Nick of Time
by Miss Black5
Summary: What do you do when you're stuck in the 1600's? And with your worst enemy? Ginny finds out, when she gets imprisoned by indians and attacked by terrifying creatures. Alongside her fights Draco, but will a curse be the end of them? D/G COMPLETE w:sad end
1. Two surprises in one day

"Would anyone like to try?" Ginny was woken up from a dreamless sleep in Transfiguration one Thursday by McGonagall's strict voice. She looked up to see her teacher with an hourglass on a chain, looking for volunteers. Ginny stretched and hands went in the air as she yawned. "Ah, miss Weasley. Thank you for volunteering." McGonagall walked up to her, placed the hourglass round Ginny's neck, and backed away expectantly.  
  
A confused Ginny examined the object carefully, trying to make out what it was. She flipped and turned it over in her hand. She looked up at McGonagall. . .at least she tried to. Everything was spinning violently. The world was just colours. . .baby blue, pink, yellow, navy blue, mint green, violet. . .all colours.  
  
Ginny was about to throw up when the spinning suddenly stopped and she felt herself falling. She looked down. Only a few meters. Thump! She hit the ground and blacked out.  
  
?????  
  
Ginny heard strange noises as she woke up from unconsciousness. It was not her language, that's for sure. Her eyes blurred as she opened them and a strange vision came before her. She was in what looked like a tent, and looking over her were two dirty, black-haired women, clothed in deerskin, bracelets and necklaces decorated with feathers and shells. They were very tall and scrawny. One of the women was holding a turtle rattle and was shaking it above her body.  
  
"Where am I?" Ginny asked and sat up. The woman with the rattle waved a hand towards the pile of sheets that she was lying on, indicating her to rest. Ginny lay down again and repeated her question.  
  
"Kha lihfrang kom Khakinake," the woman with the rattle told the other woman, who stood up and left.  
  
"You don't understand me do you?" she asked. The woman ignored her. "Oh, bugger." She said and punched the ground. Her fist hit a rock, causing it to start bleeding. Ginny swore as she sucked her fist.  
  
A moment later, the woman came back and following her was a white man, dressed in deerskin like the women. His chest was bare and muscular, along with his arms. There was a bow and arrows across his back and his blonde hair was decorated with a white feather that hung loose in his eyes. He was very pale, but dirty.  
  
Ginny gasped as realisation hit her. . .this was Draco Malfoy.  
  
A/N: OK, please review. Would you like for me to carry on? You'll find out why Draco's there in the next chapter! Please stay with me!!!! 


	2. Stars and Shouts

"Johni flert knort," Draco said to the women. They went outside and Draco sat down by Ginny's 'bed'. "Finally I found you," Draco said. "I've been searching high and low for you."  
  
"What? Where am I? What happened? Why are you here?" Ginny asked Draco, but way too fast.  
  
"Wow, slow down, babe," Draco said, putting his hands in front of his in defence. "loll down." Draco placed a hand on the small of her back and on the back of her head and helped her lie down. "Dumbledore sent me to look for you."  
  
"You've said a sentence and I'm already confused," Ginny shook her head.  
  
"OK, let me start from the beginning. Just chill," Draco explained. "Remember your last Transfiguration lesson?" Ginny nodded. "Well, you went back in time by a time turner. The hourglass thing that you had round your neck," Draco added after seeing the confused expression on Ginny's face. "You came here and the time turner got left behind for some reason. So, Dumbledore sent me to find you. I'm meant to get you back." Draco scratched the back of his neck. "But, unfortunately, my time turner broke." They both sighed. "So, until we find another way to get back, we'll have to stay here.  
  
"So, I'm guessing we're with Indians right now?" Ginny asked. Draco nodded. "Do you have your wand?"  
  
"Yup. And so do you," Draco got out Ginny's wand from his pocket. Ginny sighed and looked at her hands. While doing so, she noticed the clothes she was wearing. She was also wearing deer skin clothes. It was a dress that reminded her strongly on the muggle video, Pochahontas. Her dress barely reached her knees and had feathers hanging from the bottom and it was sleeveless. There were blue printings on it. A feather on fire.  
  
"What's up with these clothes?" Ginny asked with her eyes narrowed.  
  
"Well, they're adopting you. Like they adopted me," Draco explained. "They named you Dornasenage."  
  
"What's that mean?" Ginny's eyes widened in curiosity.  
  
"Red Hurricane." Ginny burst out laughing. She was literally rolling around on the floor with laughter.  
  
After Ginny's little outburst of laughter, she asked him what his name was, still giggling. "Khakinake. It means cold as ice. I'm quite fond of it," he explained.  
  
"Why Red Hurricane?" Ginny asked.  
  
"Because when Ghortilaki saw you spinning in the air and the wind around you, they thought it was appropriate." Ginny cracked again.  
  
????  
  
Draco left the tent pleased with himself. He'd never made anyone laugh so hard. Of course, she had asked him what her Indian name was, but it still made him happy. He had changed since his fifth year, after his dad died of cancer. It was a muggle illness of some sort. He was seventeen now and a man. He could make his own decisions. He was more kind and sympathetic now, although no one had noticed. He used his coldness for defence, not to attack.  
  
It was a warm evening and it had started to et dark. The half moon was shining and a few stars were brightly coming to view.  
  
"Cold as ice! You are the only one who knows Yeungese," said Gortilaki, Blue Bear, to Draco as he caught up with him. Yeungese was the Indians' word for English. "You must teach the girl."  
  
Blue Bear quickly caught up with Draco. They had become friends the last two weeks Draco had been staying there. He had learned their language by a spell cast by Dumbledore. "No need. She already knows it," Draco told Blue Bear.  
  
"How? She only joined us yesterday."  
  
"You know how. I told you my secret and you promised to keep it," Draco answered.  
  
"Oh. Is she a sorceress?" Blue Bear asked once they stopped by a tree where no one ever came. That was their secret talking place.  
  
"Yes. We prefer to call them witches. And I'm a wizard, not a sorcerer," Draco explained and sat down by the tree, leaning against the trunk. "I just need to find a way back."  
  
"Have you tried to contact any other Sor-Witches and Wizards?" Blue Bear asked.  
  
"I don't know any. I probably won't find any. They tend to hide their powers these days. I learnt about it in Muggle Studies," Draco explained. He banged his head against the tree and gave out a groan of pain.  
  
"Don't worry. Us Indians don't mind people like you. In fact, we like to make them healers. We can visit other tribes who may have Sorcerers," Blue Bear said, attempting to comfort Draco.  
  
Draco closed his eyes and thought for a moment when he heard a pleasantly soft voice ring in his ears. He opened his eyes to see Blue Bear gone, replaced by Ginny, who was looking beautiful in her deer skin dress and with bangles and other Indian jewellery. She was sitting next to him, head rested on the tree and she was looking at the sky.  
  
"Isn't it beautiful?" Ginny asked, not taking a glance at him.  
  
"What?" Draco asked her, moving his eyes towards the sky.  
  
"The stars. Aren't they beautiful?" Ginny repeated. "Look, there's Venus." Ginny pointed at a bright distant star.  
  
"Are you OK?" Draco asked Ginny and felt her forehead.  
  
"Fuck you, Malfoy. Why would you care anyway?" WHY!!!!! Why did everyone think he was just like his dad?  
  
"I'm not like my dad, Weasel!!" Draco sat up completely and shouted at her.  
  
"You can prove that by calling me Ginny for starters," Ginny said casually.  
  
"Fine!! I'll prove to you that I'm completely different to what my dad was like!" Draco said a bit louder and harsher than intended.  
  
"OK, Draco." And with that, she stood up and left.  
  
???? 


	3. Brothers, help us

Ginny left Draco mainly of fear. She knew what he was capable of and she couldn't keep a dead pan any longer. Once she was out of sight, she ran for it to her 'tent'. A nice girl had shown her to her tent. She didn't speak English but she managed with a little difficulty that included miming.  
  
She was to share a tent with Draco. It was very small and only fitted two 'beds' and a box with parchment and some quills the Indians had traded from the English. Ginny sat down on her bed and let the tears flow. How were they going to get back? This was going to be tricky.  
  
Ginny let herself fall face-down on her bed and cried even harder. She cried for what seemed like hours and didn't hear when the flap of the tent opened.  
  
"Virginia. What is it?" Draco asked in a surprisingly soft and soothing voice.  
  
Ginny stopped crying and felt a pleasant chill down her spine when she heard the sound of her first name. She felt slightly embarrassed that she was crying. Draco sat down next to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Virginia. Stop crying."  
  
Ginny felt warmth in her body even though his hands were cold. When she was little her mum would give her a hug and make her a hot chocolate. Ginny would tell her all about what had happened if she was upset.  
  
Draco comforting her was different. The touch of his hand made Ginny feel warm inside. She begged for him to stop muttering his comforting words even though she liked it, so she said something that would surely get rid of him. . . "Your hands are cold," . . .or not.  
  
Draco chuckled. "You can be very cute sometimes, you know that?" he asked.  
  
"Shut up, Malfoy. Go away I want some time alone," Ginny said, secretly begging for him to stay.  
  
"Alright then. But if you change your mind I'll be outside-"  
  
"No wait. Stay," Ginny said looking in his direction with her red and puffy eyes. She sat up and Draco made his way to the bed. He sat next to her and put his arm around her shoulders, allowing her to cry in his chest all she wanted.  
  
????  
  
Draco woke up early the next morning. He had gotten used to that lately. It was like the country had a special effect on him, causing him to wake up at six or seven. He turned his head to his right and snuggled up under the thin coat he was to use for duvet. He opened his eyes and saw red hair cuddled up at his chest. What the hell? He thought and then remembered the night before's little incident. He didn't know why she was crying, but had comforted her anyway.  
  
He felt a little cosy with the little redhead cuddled up against his bare chest, wearing only a thin, extremely short and tight dress. . .Shame on you, Draco. He thought. You shouldn't be thinking those things! She's a Wea. . .not your type!  
  
Draco almost dozed off again when the tent opened and Run like an Eagle's (their messenger) head came to view.  
  
"Cold as Ice, you must come, quick! Something terrible has happened!!"  
  
Run like an Eagle looked at Ginny and then back up at Draco. He smiled. "It's not what it looks, Run like an Eagle. She was upset and I comforted her," Draco said while carefully getting out of bed. He got out of his tent and followed Run like an Eagle to the chief's hut. It was quite a big hut, compared to all the others. It was a bit bigger than Hagrid's in length. Draco's and Ginny's tent was the only tent there. All the others were huts made of twigs, logs, leaves. . .you name it!  
  
They entered the large hut through the small door that creaked loudly when they opened it and were greeted by three beautiful young girls that danced around Draco in delight. They were the princesses.  
  
Elu (Full Of Grace) was a 12 year old girl with eyes as blue as the sea after a storm. She was very graceful and did everything with style.  
  
Olathe Orenda (Beautiful as Magic) was fourteen and her body was what Draco would normally call 'hot' but he never said that out loud. Her eyes were almost black like the night, but with a glint of grey in them.  
  
And finally the oldest Kachine (Sacred Dancer). She was sixteen and they didn't go on very well. She was very womanly, even more so than Beautiful as magic, but not as slim as Ginny. She had green eyes and her hair was somehow lighter than her sisters'. Kachine should have been married by now, but she was very stubborn and had refused any proposals.  
  
"Cold as Ice, you must come here quickly!" came a voice from the other end of the hut. It was the chief. Draco looked up from the girls and saw the tall and strong figure of the chief Motega (New Arrow). He wore the same type of clothes as Draco, and a headband with feathers hanging all the way to his waist. "Look. Read this," he ordered nervously, not looking up from the yellowed piece of parchment which he held in his shaking hand.  
  
It only took Draco five strides and he was standing right in front of New Arrow. New Arrow handed him the parchment and Draco took it. He began to read.  
  
Brothers.  
  
As your brothers, we ask you this favour: we are up against the Yeungese. These barbarians take our people and hold them captive. We would like to start a war, and to do so we need more people. And so we ask you. Please help us. For the good of our kind.  
  
Mahanett Tribe.  
  
"Well. . .What will you do? Why did you send after me?" Draco questioned, giving the letter back to New Arrow.  
  
"I do not know what to do, but I sent after you because of your originate," he explained. "You know the Yeungese. You know their ways. Are they powerful? Are we in danger?"  
  
Draco didn't know what to say. He didn't know anything about muggle history and what they were capable of. So he said "I should say you are if you accept this. They have many weapons you don't recognise. If you give me time, I'll give you my advice. . .if that's what you're after."  
  
New Arrow nodded and dismissed him. After a quick head bow, Draco left the hut and started towards the lake. "Advice, huh?" came a voice from behind him. Draco turned around.  
  
"Sacred Dancer," Draco snapped, looking her up and down. "What d'you want?"  
  
"I've been watching you and your evil ways. I know that you do not know what you speak of. It shows in your eyes," Sacred Dancer clarified. She started circling him, looking him up and down. Draco didn't move, only followed her with his eyes. "You are not from this country, nor did you know about our existence, before Blue Bear found you. I was in the woods at my thinking place and I saw how disgustingly you looked at him.  
  
DRACO'S FLASHBACK  
  
"But headmaster, why me?!" Draco asked Dumbledore, or in other words, shouted at the headmaster. He was in Dumbledore's round office, pacing the floor in anger.  
  
"Because you are the only one capable. I know well that you are familiar with more spells and hexes than anyone in this school, with the exception of me," Dumbledore, who was sitting in his new muggle office chair and swinging in it playfully, explained.  
  
"Why not Potter? Why not the famous, wonderful Potter? You can trust him, not me!"  
  
"Because, believe it or not, you are a better wizard than him. Mr Malfoy, it's better you than him." The headmaster reassured.  
  
"You can't trust me! You can trust him, but not me!" Draco argued, but didn't succeed. The clever headmaster was too smart for him.  
  
"Draco. Remember when your Father died, you swore to do good things?" he asked.  
  
Draco's expression softened in amazement and he stopped in his tracks. "How did you know about that?"  
  
"News travel fast at Hogwarts, Draco, even for the teachers. The students have laughed at your words, they don't believe in you." The headmaster leaned over on his desk, and whispered. "This is your chance."  
  
Draco thought it over for a moment. That would mean that the students wouldn't hate him anymore. "O-OK, fine," he stammered. "When do I leave?"  
  
####  
  
Draco stood in the transfiguration classroom in front of McGonagall with a single bag with food supplies in his left hand. He was a bit nervous and was still considering if this was the right thing to do. He couldn't hear McGonagall when she gave him instructions.  
  
Draco fiddled with the sleeve of his green cloak and looked down on his clothes. Grey shirt with the top buttons undone and jeans, underneath an unbuttoned robe. He hated muggle clothes but the teachers forced him in case he got cold. More than one robe is too heavy. They said.  
  
Draco was in a daze when McGonagall handed him the Tim Turner but his hand was automatically drawn to it. When his long, elegant fingers touched the object, he snapped out of it.  
  
"You know what to do," McGonagall said and backed away.  
  
Draco put the Time Turner round his neck and chanted, "Take me a week before the last person who used this Turner went."  
  
Everything started spinning and bright colours blocked his vision of the classroom. He closed his eyes. After what seemed ages, the spinning stopped and Draco opened his eyes just in time to see green grass. . .then he hit the ground hard. VERY hard.  
  
"AARGH! What the hell?" he asked out loud. He grabbed his right arm and found out the hard way that he had got a bruise. He felt pain in his right hand for some reason. He checked. He was holding a broken Time Turner in his bleeding hand.  
  
"Shit! ----!" Draco said, picking up the broken glass from his hand. He sat up and ripped a bit of the bottom of his muggle shirt to make a bandage.  
  
Draco felt someone's eyes on him but ignored it and carried on wrapping his hand in a 'bandage'. He was distracted again when his head was forced up by a spear. His grey eyes met brown ones.  
  
Those brown eyes belonged to a muscular man with black, long hair and tanned skin. He was carrying a spear, a bow and there were arrows across his back and some bear and deer skin. Behind him were more dirty men, carrying the same things. Draco looked at them with disgust and was disgusted even further when he smelt the horrible stink.  
  
The men helped him to his feet and tied his hands behind his back. On the way to their village, he thought he saw movement in the trees. It was not an animal, but it looked like a woman. . .  
  
END OF DRACO'S FLASHBAK  
  
"That was you?" he asked, the figure in the trees finally making sense.  
  
"Yes, and I will make sure that you will be sent out of our tribe. I will convince my Father. I always do. Your friend will stay." And with that, she left. 


	4. The War Dance

The sun was high in the sky when Ginny woke up the next day. She yawned and stretched, making a soft noise of satisfaction.  
  
She made her way to the lake which was no more than half a mile away and looked at her reflection in the water: She was dirty and she could feel her pores filling with filth after sleeping on what could be considered the ground. So she made sure that no one was watching, stripped her dress and moccasins off and jumped in the water.  
  
It was cold, sub-zero, and she felt her fingers going numb, but she let her Weasley stubbornness take over before her whole body wouldn't be able to move, and swam. It wasn't a deep lake, and the width was only a few metres. If she stretched, she could just feel the sharp rocks and cutting shells at the bottom if she tried, cutting at her pale, sensitive skin, making her wince in pain.  
  
The water smelled of fish, which Ginny tried to ignore but failed with a frown when she realised this was what she was going to smell like when she got out.  
  
Ginny swam for a while, giggling when the fishes brushed against her body, diving in the water, rolling over, everything she could think of!  
  
But little did she know she was not alone.  
  
"Virginia, if you don't mind, other people use this lake, too!"  
  
Ginny jumped! She had been under water and as soon as her ears came out of the water, she heard the amused voice. She covered her body and spat, "Draco, you pervert!" blushing furiously.  
  
"Has anyone ever told you that you look cute when you blush?" Draco asked.  
  
"Flirt, Malfoy, and you'll find yourself castrated!" Ginny threatened with an evil glare.  
  
"I very much doubt you'll get the courage to do that," Draco assured.  
  
"I'm a Gryffindor, Draco, and in case it slipped your mind, we're known for bravery," Ginny clarified.  
  
Draco chuckled. "But you'd never hurt a soul unless it's for a good cause."  
  
"I don't see your point. . .this is a good cause," Ginny said mockingly. "OK, I'm naked over here, do you mind?"  
  
"Not at all," Draco said impishly with a smirk, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Ginny splashed some water all over him, making him soaking wet. "Ooh, low low, Virginia," Draco complained and jumped in the water for the coming water fight.  
  
"At least let me put my clothes on before you see any more of me, OK?" Ginny pleaded.  
  
"Fine!" and with that, Draco turned around and got under the water.  
  
Ginny quickly on the grass and put her dress on, making sure that Draco wouldn't peek. Draco stayed underwater like he belonged there, swimming around aimlessly.  
  
She stepped into the water silently to surprise Draco, but by some chance, she couldn't find him. That was until a strong hand grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth with another strong hand and pulled her underwater with him.  
  
Ginny was very much taken by surprise and she was scared before she realised that this was Draco taking her under. She struggled to break free to get some air, giggling. Much to her disappointment, except for the gasp of air, he let go.  
  
"Draco, are you mad?" She asked, trying to look terrified but failed because of her giggles and she couldn't do anything else but laugh.  
  
Draco laughed with her, giving her a smile that she never thought a Malfoy would possess. His smile reached his eyes, showing off his perfect, white teeth and a sparkle in his eyes.  
  
He splashed her with water, only to be kicked in the shin by a surprised Ginny, who splashed him back. There was a huge water fight that followed before Draco got tired.  
  
"I'm going to rest for a bit," he said, getting out of the water.  
  
"Well, I'm going to swim a bit more," Ginny said, taking sharp intakes of breath, and started swimming.  
  
As she got her head out of the water, she saw something big and brown coming towards her at a rapid speed. She gave out a long, high-pitched scream and covered her face with her hands. She heard a splash and strong arms take her, and then a thump when she was put on the ground. She was still screaming when he shook her, telling her to stop. She did and removed er hands from her face, opening her eyes.  
  
Draco was lying on top of her, carefully moving a hair out of her eye. "It's OK. It was a log, and it's gone," he told her soothingly.  
  
"Y-you saved my li-life," she breathed. Draco smiled. She studied his face and memorised it. Grey eyes, elegant-looking nose, high cheekbones, a thin line for lips, pale skin. . .she realised just how perfect he was. Draco lowered his head a bit, stopping mid-way as if trying not to scare her. He lowered his head more. Their lips were brushing when they heard a voice.  
  
"Jighast fler ftriak," said a young man, dressed like Draco, only his clothes were a bit better looking. He was very good-looking, muscled and tall, his six-pack showing as much as Draco's.  
  
Draco got off her and replied something, and Ginny guessed the man was asking what the screaming was about.  
  
"What'd he say?" Ginny asked when they walked back to the village with the man.  
  
"He was asking about the screaming," Draco explained. Ginny asked who he was. "He's the prince, and the heir of the village. He's eighteen. His name's Ali. It means The highest."  
  
Ginny nodded and followed The highest to the village, thinking about what would've happened if The highest hadn't come.  
  
*****  
  
The night was cold and Ginny's clothes hadn't dried yet. She was sitting next to Draco around a fire where everyone in the village were sitting around. It was a big bonfire, which was just fine, concerning her still- wet clothes.  
  
The chief made an announcement which Ginny didn't understand, so she asked Draco. "I don't think you want to know," he told her. "Besides, I thought I already cast the spell on you." Ginny groaned, knowing that she wouldn't get any more out of him. Some of the men cheered, whereas the women protested, holding back their husbands when they tried to join the dance that had started around the fire. "Besides, I thought I already cast the spell on you."  
  
"Well, you didn't. Draco, can you please cast that spell on me, so I can understand what they're saying? Pretty please with a cherry on top?" Ginny begged.  
  
"OK, fine!" Draco said and took his wand out. As soon as he was finished casting the spell on her (he did it so no one could see), she could understand what the people were saying.  
  
"NO! Please Ambush, you cannot! We need you!" A woman sitting quite close to Ginny begged her husband.  
  
"I am sorry, Snowbird, the village and our brothers need me," he replied and joined in the dance.  
  
"Please, Draco, tell me what's going on!" Ginny beseeched, feeling a bit too scared for her liking.  
  
Draco sighed. "Well, you'll eventually find out anyway. There is going to be a war against the English. We're helping another tribe to fight. Any man who joins that dance must go, and can never turn back, or he would be considered a coward."  
  
At that moment, Sacred Dancer stood up. "Cold as Ice, why don't you join them?" she asked. Many of the men agreed. "Prove yourself by surviving a war!" she said.  
  
Ginny saw Draco grit his teeth as he glared at the girl. He stood up and started walking towards the fire, but Ginny stopped him by grabbing his hand. "Draco, no! Don't leave me! Please!" she begged him on her knees.  
  
Draco bent down and whispered into her ear: "As long as I know you're alright, I'll live." And he joined the dance.  
  
*****  
  
The night went by slowly as Ginny watched Draco dance around the fire, Indian style. After about two hours, she couldn't take it anymore, and headed for their tent.  
  
She tried to sleep but the beat of the war drm kept her awake for hours. She tried covering her ears, putting flowers in them, she tried pulling her sheets over her, but the beat travelled with the ground, and the cheers of the men was loud enough to wake up a bear in the spring.  
  
At last, Ginny gave up and decided to tidy up the tent. . .the only problem was that there was nothing to tidy up! So she picked up a bag of shells and feathers, and made a necklace with the brown leather string provided.  
  
It took her an hour to make the necklace and decided to make another one because the dance was still going. After doing that, she was about to make another one when Draco stepped in. His face was covered in war paint: There was a red line across his right cheek, a white K on his other and a brown Bear's paw pattern on his forehead. He had a feather hanging from his hair and he had been given a picture of a bear on his left cheek.  
  
It meant the Bear clan. Draco had told her about that when he told her about their traditions the afternoon after the log incident, but neither of them belonged to a clan then. Members of the same clan weren't allowed to marry, Draco had told her, and in certain tribes, if they weren't married, they had to live with their clan. Draco had been put into the Bear clan just after the war dance.  
  
"Draco, how could you?" Ginny asked in disbelief and stood up to face him. "You'll be leaving me here with no one to turn to for help!"  
  
"Listen, Virginia-" Draco started.  
  
"No, you listen!" Ginny interrupted. "Were you sent here to save me or to get yourself killed?!?!?! You'll go to that war and get yourself killed, and then what am I going to do!"  
  
"Virginia, listen, please! Let me explain!" Draco attempted to calm her down, but failed. "Virginia, that was the princess who suggested it! She threatened to kick me out earlier so I would have gone anyway!"  
  
"But at least you would be safe and I could find you, but this way-"  
  
"This way I'll go with credit! People getting kicked out of a tribe doesn't happen everyday and they don't go easy on you! It's a very dishonourable way to leave!"  
  
"Damn your pride, Draco! Why do you have to die rather than lose your pride! I want you to stay!" Ginny shouted, and then lowered her voice to a whisper. "I need you."  
  
"I know. I'll find away. I'll come back for you." And with that, he left her, going with the other warriors to war.  
  
A/N: OK! Now one of my action/adventure/romance is coming! OK please read and review!!! I live on them! pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez!  
  
Toodles! 


	5. Red and White

Draco still couldn't believe he was doing this. He still couldn't believe he joined the war dance. When Sacred Dancer had suggested for him to go in front of everyone, Draco had had a rush of emotions-hate, surprise and- although he would never admit it-fear.  
  
Of course, Draco wasn't a coward. He would fight until he had no more strength, as his Father had taught him. . .it was Ginny he was concerned about. What would happen to her? She would be on her own with no one to turn to.  
  
But now it was too late to turn back. He had already been travelling for about sixteen hours. He travelled with three quarters of the men in his tribe, and two powwaws. A powwaw was a healer-sometimes they would be witches or wizards, but these ones weren't (although one of them claimed to be psychic).  
  
They travelled quite heavily-everyone carried something. There were two wagons, one for food and one for weaponry. There were two Donkeys pulling them and everyone carried their own tents and some spare firewood, in case they camped in an open space.  
  
Everyone had war paint on their faces. Some would put different patterns on their chest, according to their names, but others chose to be more sterile and only painted their faces.  
  
The Indian in charge, Awiki (Scattered Spear), gave them the signal to camp. They were to camp in a small clearing in the forest. The clearing was small, but big enough to light a fire. Everyone took their tents off their backs and relaxed their shoulders or stretched, while setting their tent up. It took Draco about a half hour, with a little help from his fellow warriors (although Draco didn't need it, he told himself).  
  
When all the tents were up, the warriors lit a fire to cook their food. Everyone cooked their own food, but were only allowed a certain amount. Draco wasn't hungry. Everyone sat around the fire, except for the powwaws who had their own fire, and listened to Scattered Spear.  
  
"We should reach the Mahanett tribe by sundown the day after tomorrow if we hurry," he announced. "If we get attacked by some force, someone must protect our powwaws. . .Black Leopard, will you do that?"  
  
Black Leopard, a tall and muscular man in his early thirty's, nodded. "I shall do whatever you ask," he said.  
  
"Cold as Ice, since you are the youngest and strongest of us all, and I have learned of your cleverness, if anything happens to me you will take charge," Scattered Spear told, or rather beseeched Draco, who nodded.  
  
Draco got fairly bored after a jiffy, so he found a small, nice and thick branch that was lying in front of him, and picked up a sturdy rock and started making a dagger that looked very much like a stake. Draco had just finished sharpening the dagger when Scattered Spear told them to hit the sack. They would only have about four hour sleep because, according to the psychic powwaw, it was two o'clock in the morning.  
  
So Draco got into his tent and fell asleep with his dagger in his hand. . .  
  
****  
  
. . .Draco woke up to a hissing noise only about a half hour later. He half opened his eyes and only saw one thing:  
  
Red eyes, open mouth as if it was about to bite, long and sharp canines that looked like fangs, and pale skin. It didn't take Draco a long time to figure out that the mouth was, in fact, about to bite, and that the long sharp canines were, indeed, fangs, and that those red eyes did, without a doubt, belong to a vampire.  
  
Shit!, Draco thought bitterly and brought up his dagger that he realised he had in his hand to stab the monster, but it flitted to his other side. Draco tried again but the vampire was too quick for him-it grabbed his hand with much strength so it gave a cracking sound. Draco used the opportunity to punch the ole' beast in the stomach with his free hand and the vampire let go. Draco felt an arrow of pain shoot through his wrist as he cradled it in his other hand.  
  
Draco's anger rose and he drew his wand. "Lumos holem," Draco whispered. Light shot from Draco's wand in the vampires direction. It gave a hiss of pain and flitted into the darkness.  
  
Disappointed that he didn't kill the vampire, Draco punched the ground with his bad hand and gave a shout of ache. It was broken. He swore before making his way to the powwaws' tent.  
  
*****  
  
Ginny remained standing where she was for a long time. She was on her own. All alone. She could hear small insects as they jumped from grass to grass and listened to the tap of the war drums until they died out, then she fell to her knees and broke into tears, her face in her hands. She cried for seconds, minutes, or even hours. She knew it was childish but she couldn't help it. She'd been abandoned. Her only hope was gone. Gone. . .  
  
*****  
  
"Red Hurricane, will you eat?" Aiyana (Eternal Bloom) begged Ginny. "You have not eaten nor slept for days!"  
  
"I'm not hungry," Ginny replied absent-mindedly. It was morning a couple of days after Draco left and Ginny couldn't stop thinking about him. How was he? Was he coping? Was he still alive? Those questions repeated themselves over and over again in her head as she sat on a log with the other women.  
  
"Child, you must get some rest. You look awful with those black moons under your eyes," Tallulah (Leaping Water) attempted to convince her. "Please, go sleep."  
  
"I'm not tired," Ginny answered dully.  
  
"No, Red Hurricane, your eyes tell it all! You are exhausted! You have also lost too much weight! Go sleep, now!" Leaping Water ordered, pointing at her tent.  
  
"Fine, fine! I'll go sleep!" Ginny lied and stood up. She decided to pretend to go to her tent, but take a walk instead. She went into her tent and picked up her wand. She cast a spell so that these certain women wouldn't notice her sneak out.  
  
After walking for a while, Ginny lay down on the grass and looked at the sky. It was clear, and the sun hurt her eyes, so she decided to close them. She was about to fall asleep when she heard her friend's, Mansi's (Plucked Flower), voice.  
  
"Hey," she said.  
  
Ginny opened her eyes. Plucked Flower and she had become quite good friends in the past few days. She was Ginny's only comfort. "Hey."  
  
"What is it? You seem extremely sad and lonely," Plucked Flower asked.  
  
"It's Dr-Cold as Ice. He was the only one I knew at the time and I still need him. Why did he have to leave?" Ginny sat up, facing Plucked Flower. "It's so unfair!" She burst into tears.  
  
"There, there," her friend comforted. "Do not sulk! I have some good news!"  
  
Ginny stopped crying. "Good news? What good news?"  
  
"I am going to make you guess."  
  
"He's back?" Ginny guessed, but to her utmost disappointment, Plucked Flower shook her head. "Erm. . .I get to live in a hut?"  
  
"Well. . .yes you do, but that is not the answer."  
  
Hmmm. I get to live in a hut, but it isn't the answer? "Then what?!" Ginny requested.  
  
"You are engaged. . .to The Highest! You will be the queen of our village! Everyone expected it! After all that time you spent together, he finally decided yesterday!" Plucked Flower said cheerfully and giggled, expecting Ginny to be happy.  
  
"Ex-excuse me?" Ginny stammered, wondering if she heard her right. "Did you say I'm getting MARRIED?"  
  
"Yes! Isn't it wonderful?" she said in her usual sing-song voice.  
  
True, Ginny and The Highest had spent a lot of time together, more than needed. But MARRIEGE!  
  
Ginny felt a sudden headache come over her and she could feel the lumps building up in her throat. She was going to be sick.  
  
There was no way that she was going to get married at sixteen. NO WAY!!!  
  
A/N: OK that's the end of that chapter! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez review! Reviews are my life support! I shall die if no reviews come! *dramatic breath*! OK I finished being a drama queen!  
  
Thanx to: Dannie7-snogging is coming soon!, Sony Lewison-thanx for reviewing! Read my other stories! (plz plz plz plz plz plz plz. . .), cowgirlkk12-romance v. soon!, A+J-thanx for reviewing! Review again!, dyl-chan-I fixed the Sacred Dancer thing, Ani-I did the run like an eagle on purpose coz I felt like it *grins*, Miss Lupin-see u at school! You can praise me then! : ), SoccerAngel *sigh* (it would be unfair if I didn't so since I'm a NICE person, I did)-thanx for reviewing! We call you an evil shithead because you review too harshly! You can review honestly but doing it so harshly is crossing the line a bit!, Emma Malfoy-yup! D/G!, Gøril-IKKE GÅ! DU MÅ IKKE GÅ!!! JEG SKAL SAVNE DEG! Det her er gøy! Ingen skjønner dette! : ), Benji-thanx for reviewing! Yuffie-Girl-chapters will be longer (as you can see) please review again! Starlight Nemesis-thanx for reviewing! Review again! Irezistable Gigaz-thanx for reviewing! Review again! 


	6. Betrayal

The journey to the Mahanett tribe took longer than expected. It took quite a few days and nothing 'unusual' happened. They were at a little distance from the village now, and they got a nice welcome:-  
  
"Look, there it is!" Scattered Spear said and pointed at a village that looked like a Lego village from their distance. It wasn't big, but it was big enough for a small tribe. They got closer and closer and closer. . .when they were close enough they could see Archers ,prepared to attack, surrounding the village.  
  
Draco heard something cutting through the air as an arrow shot towards them. It hit Scattered Spear in the heart and soon his chest was covered in blood. He fell on his back and tried to get the arrow out of his body. Draco hurried to his side, joining Kordafy (Speckled Sword), who had already taken the arrow out of his brother's chest.  
  
"C-Cold as I-Ice, I w-want you to t-take over, now," he stammered to Draco. Then he turned to Speckled Sword and spoke: "Brother, t-take ca-care of my w-w-wife and ch-children. I want th-them to be ha-happy." He smiled and his brother nodded. Scattered Spear smiled at all of his warriors and then he died. . .  
  
. . .Draco was in control.  
  
"Cold as Ice, what shall we do?" an older man, Lavid (Silver Ox) asked him. "You are in charge now since Scattered Spear is dead."  
  
"Do not say that!" Speckled Sword shouted in disbelief from where he was, trying to hold back tears. The powwaws had checked if there was anything they could do, but they couldn't.  
  
More arrows shot and Draco's men all moved so the enemy couldn't see them. A couple of men died and some mourned their friends, while Draco commanded them to get someplace safe before they died.  
  
"We must do something! We cannot stand here and be morose!" Silver Ox complained.  
  
"Do what?! Send someone up there with a white flag begging for peace?" Speckled Sword suggested sarcastically.  
  
That gave Draco an idea! He was surprised that there wasn't a light bulb (whatever that was, Draco didn't know) hovering above his head. "Speckled Sword, that's brilliant! I'll go forward and distract them while you guys get back to the village!" he suggested.  
  
"No! Cold as Ice, you are our Leader and we cannot afford to lose you!" Spackled Sword objected.  
  
"Yes I am your Leader and I'm commanding that you all get back to the village while I distract the enemy." He turned around to face his warriors. Many of them were hurt and many were looking very miserable. They had lost quite a few of their men and it only encouraged Draco, being a Malfoy and all.  
  
The powwaws were hiding behind Black Leopard, desperately clinging to each other in fear.  
  
The seriously wounded people that couldn't be saved lay hopelessly on the ground, anxious to get up and carry on.  
  
The healthy men stood and listened, some, however, tried to help the wounded, but failing as they died.  
  
Draco felt powerful and he liked it. He looked over the crowd and felt bigger, much bigger than before. . .he was, after all, six foot. He felt so much power over these men as they hushed and listened. And he was giving it up. . .  
  
He gathered all his courage and said it. "Warriors, I will sacrifice myself from my own free will. . ." Many protested. He could hear gasps and complaints and objection. He waved his hand for silence, and got it. Oh, that power. . . ". . .unless someone is willing to give up their lives in my place?" Silence. "Thought so. OK, get me some white material and a stick!"  
  
It wasn't long until they found the sticks and the white material, and Draco made the flag. It was a bit hard to make the flag because they didn't have Spellotape, which Draco was used to.  
  
Draco took a deep breath and picked up the flag. He started walking and as soon as he was in view of the village, he started waving the flag around at a not too sow and not too fast speed.  
  
He was thoughtfully greeted by a number of arrows shooting towards him, in which he avoided and carried on walking. He had had very much training from his Father before he had died and that included dodging things that flew at him at an immediate speed. Another number of arrows shot towards him. He dodged them easily. But the third time, as he attempted to dodge an arrow, an unexpected one hit his arm, just below his shoulder, releasing too much blood.  
  
Draco gave a holler of pain before everything turned black. . .  
  
*****  
  
Ginny avoided The Highest. He looked for her, or so she was told. She had gotten to the habit of eating in fruits in the woods nearby instead of eating with the others.  
  
She had been put in a clan the day before. The Fox clan. She had suspected it for a long while. She didn't know why, it was just a feeling. Now she had a Fox's head painted on her cheek. It was permanent but she was sure that magic could remove it.  
  
She was walking in the woods, a bitten apple in her hand. It wasn't the best tasting apple but it was food.  
  
It was noon and Ginny was enjoying the habitat of the animals that lived there immensely: Apple trees, Banana Trees, Bushes, Berries, Flowers. . .she couldn't name them all! She didn't get much of this in the Forest at Hogwarts, if she got anything at all! Even if she did, it would most likely be poisonous.  
  
(A/N: I have no idea what sorts of plants grow in America! If I got something wrong just ignore it OK? Good!)  
  
She took another bite of her apple and chewed while listening to the beautiful love songs of the birds and the rustling of leaves. There was one noise, however, that wasn't natural. . .  
  
The War Drum. Why was there a War Drum now? The warriors were gone They left days ago. Maybe they were sending more people? Whatever it was, Ginny had to know so she sprinted as fast as she could back to the village.  
  
The village seemed empty for some reason. No one was eating at the meeting place like they should be. But it wasn't quiet. There were cheers and welcomes on the other end of then village. Ginny followed the sound.  
  
At the entrance of the village was a big crowd. Bigger than it would be these days with the warriors gone and all. On one side of the crowd were women, a couple of men and quite a few children. But on the other side were painted men holding weapons and tents as if they had been travelling and expecting something bad to happen. It didn't take Ginny long to realise that they had been travelling and they had expected something bad to happen. . .the warriors were back!  
  
Loneliness and curiosity was replaced by happiness and excitement. Since the warriors were back that meant that Draco was back! Ginny couldn't help but smile and she ran towards the crowd, ready to welcome Draco and give him a big hug. She was too happy to think about the consequences: Angry brothers and a dead Draco, including never being able to see daylight again.  
  
Ginny stood on her tiptoes, anxiously searching for Pale skin and Blonde hair-but she was too small, being only a five foot nine.  
  
She slithered between the happy people and looked around. Red skin, black hair. . .red skin, black hair. . .red skin, no hair. . .no pale skin, nor blonde hair.  
  
Ginny searched for a long time, exhausting herself while she was at it. She decided that he was looking for her, so she sat down and waited for him to find her.  
  
Ginny sat and thought about what would happen to the wedding. She'd probably run away just before they were getting married or something. She didn't want to marry The Highest, she only considered hi as a friend. Men, she thought.  
  
He was sweet and caring, and when he laughed, it sent a chill down her spine. Apparently, no one made him laugh, but when he did, it was like a Jay on a Sunday morning. She supposed it only sent a chill down her spine because she was proud to make him laugh. But fucking hell to MARRY HIM? Over my dead body! She thought crossly.  
  
She waited for half an hour. . .where was Draco! Surely he would have found her by now. There were only a few people left and Ginny could see that Draco was clearly not there amongst them. She decided to ask someone.  
  
"Excuse me," she asked a kind looking man. About in his mid-forties Ginny guessed. "Erm. . .I was wondering if you've seen a pale seventeen year old warrior with blonde hair? His name is Cold as Ice" she asked politely.  
  
The man sighed heavily and groaned. He didn't seem annoyed because his face softened to what looked like sympathy. "I am very sorry, dear." The man gave another sigh. "He sacrificed himself for a distraction. No one else would do it."  
  
"He's DEAD!?!?!" Ginny exclaimed very loudly indeed.  
  
"I do not know. It was simply a distraction. Maybe he is held prisoner? I do not know for sure. All the information I can give you is that he shall probably not return. . ." Ginny gasped. ". . .ever," he added, looking very sorry. " I am very sorry, dear."  
  
He put a hand on her shoulder and left her standing, a trillion thoughts passing by in her head. She stared right ahead, wide eyed.  
  
Then, without hesitating, she hardened her expression and packed her things. And then she carefully sneaked out. . .  
  
A/N: OK, you like? Plz plz plz pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez review! Reviews are my life! They're like food, like water, like oxygen! I can't live without them! *gets on knees and begs* Pleeeeeeeeeez! *gets up and brushes jeans* OK I'm done. Please stay with me to find out what happens to Draco. . . 


	7. Warning

Draco woke up to a moaning sound. It sounded like someone dying. There was also a rattling of. . .chains? He was feeling very light-headed and weak. He heard moaning again and when he got feeling back into his body he tried to make out where he was.  
  
It was cold and damp. Draco was used to the cold but the moaning caught his attention. He could smell rotting skin or animals and something mouldy and a funny smell that made his skin prickle.  
  
He was lying on what he suspected a wooden table, that hurt a great deal when the splinters dug into his skin, and he was chained to it. He opened his eyes with very much difficulty and saw three stone walls and where the fourth wall should be, there were thick bars about seventeen/twenty centimetres apart.  
  
It was full of disgusting things like rats, spiders, dead insects, wasps even. There was almost no light except for the tiny barred window, the same as the fourth wall but the bars were closer together. It was full of disgusting things like rats, spiders, dead insects, wasps even. And above him was the skull-shaped head of a man.  
  
Half his face was scarred with red burnt skin along with his throat and a third of his chest. It was a bright red which made it look like it only happened the day before. His right eye was closed, he probably couldn't open it and his nose was nearly chopped off but his mouth was fine, a bit scarred but not as badly as the rest.  
  
The man blinked his uninjured eye and snorted. Draco half expected the man's nose to fall apart. The man was cleaning Draco's cut which hurt enormously when the dirty cloth was brushed against it. Draco kept his face set and spoke a question that had been in his mind ever since he woke up.  
  
"Where am I?" he asked. The man looked surprised that Draco was moving, possibly because of his blood loss, but hardened his face when he answered the question.  
  
"In the Pit of Despair," his voice was sharp and slow. It sounded like burning wood and rustling of leaves. He sure did sound like he was burnt. It had damaged his voice, leaving him with an vague but sharp noise. The man started coughing blood, falling to the floor and trying desperately to hold on the wooden table that Draco was lying on. Draco's right eyebrow raised in disgust as he watched the man fight his coughs.  
  
"What the fuck d'you mean the Pit of Despair?" Draco enquired.  
  
The man stopped coughing and washed his hands in a bowl of water at another table. He got back to Draco and looked like he was considering how to answer before he did. "You will be tortured until you give them some useful information and then they will decide your fate."  
  
"Torture. . .I can handle that." Draco assured him in a brave tone.  
  
The man looked at him with amusement. He shot him a look that a dad would give his son when he accidentally called him mom instead of dad.  
  
"You are foolish, boy. No individual can stand our torturing for more than ten minutes. It is too frightening, our torturing. Not many know about it but it is true." His voice made Draco shiver. He wasn't used to even communicating with such ignorant people.  
  
This man didn't know what Draco had been through with his Father. It was nothing but torture every day of his worthless life. Draco could count them off his fingers: Whipping, electric chair, cruciatus curse, the rack, the water wheel, the iron bed, the press-this had only happened once when Draco had insulted him at a Death Eater party-,The Heretic's Fork, and oh so many things more.  
  
Draco had gotten used to it now. The only thing that frightened him were knives, which his father hadn't tortured him with.  
  
"Why cure me when you're gonna torture me?" Draco asked suspiciously.  
  
"I am a powwaw. It is my job to heal, friend or no," he replied.  
  
"Who's 'they', anyway?"  
  
The man was getting annoyed with all these questions but Draco didn't care. He was just a filthy healer who'd been burnt brutally. Maybe the English thought he was a 'Sorcerer' and had tried to burn him at the stake-Draco didn't know.  
  
"The chief of Mahanett and his advisor," the man said, answering his question.  
  
"That SON OF A BITCH!!!" Draco yelled as he remembered more clearly why he was there in this prison. He tried to sit up, but the chains held him back. He struggled to let himself loose but he was too weak. Spikes on the chains dug into his skin and he heard the rattling and the man's yelp of surprise. He lay back down in defeat.  
  
"That fucking prick. What's the most common 'fate'?"  
  
"Erm. . .I think it is putting hot iron on your eyes and put you in the Forest to die. . ."  
  
*****  
  
Escaping was much more difficult than she thought. She desperately wished that she had a broom. She didn't care if muggles saw her. She had her wand, yes, but she couldn't think of a spell to make her life easier. She had to walk a long, tiresome, walk. She didn't worry about anyone looking for her. They were probably all celebrating. Plucked Flower and The Highest were the only ones that would come looking for her but they were probably both too busy.  
  
Plucked Flower, being the flirtatious person she was, was probably off flirting with all the young home comers.  
  
The Highest was probably too busy welcoming the home comers and having fun. He and his Father, New Arrow, didn't go because the village needed them more than ever at this time of the generation.  
  
Ginny had been walking for half a day, taking only three much-deserved stops. To keep herself going, she told herself that she was fatter than Crabbe and Goyle (which she was FAR from) and that she needed the exercise. But of course, it only lasted half a minute.  
  
Ginny had started feeling uncomfortable in her deer skin clothes so she had fetched her old ones that she came in-a green cotton skirt that showed off her legs, white tights and a white oversized T-shirt that had once belonged to Ron.  
  
It was almost dark when Ginny started suspecting that there was no life for miles and miles ahead because she had walked so far and found nothing at all. That was until she bumped into the most handsome young English man carrying water in two buckets on the way to his village.  
  
The man was tall and had brown hair that reached his neck and his eyes were brown as well. He had a big charming smile which he showed off when Ginny bumped into him and fell flat on the back, her bag containing her food rolling on the ground, spilling a couple of apples and maize.  
  
"Heck, watch where you're going would ya?" Ginny complained.  
  
"I am very sorry, love. Here, let me help you up," the man said and offered a hand, but Ginny refused and got up on her own. She picked up her bag while remembering what her Mother always told her when Ginny wanted to go for a walk. "Don't trust any strangers, Ginny, dear, you never know what sort they are."  
  
"S'there a village anywhere near here?" Ginny asked, keeping her distance.  
  
"Yes there is. There is one just through the woods here and you will come to my home town. Shall I lead you there?" the man asked helpfully.  
  
Ginny considered it for a moment in her head and then agreed, putting a hand in her skirt pocket just to make sure her wand was there in case of emergencies.  
  
They didn't talk at all most of their journey. He probably didn't trust her because of the unusual clothing (to them, she noted) she wore. She didn't trust him simply because he was a stranger. She kept her hand on her wand the whole time. Although he didn't look like a horrible criminal, his kindness made her suspicious.  
  
"So. . .where are you from?" he asked, the first time he spoke for nearly half an hour.  
  
"Erm. . .Virginia?" Ginny used her own name, remembering what her mother had said about it. It was a state in America.  
  
"Ah, Virginia. Such a lovely colony that is, do you not think?" the man asked her dreamily. "I stopped by there once while travelling with my family once. It is a very pleasant colony, it is. What is your name? I am Orlando. Orlando Hughes."  
  
"Oh, I'm Ginny. Well, actually, Virginia. Virginia Weasley," Ginny replied, her doubt in him disappearing. "But people call me Ginny."  
  
"That is a pretty name. We shall be there soon. Look, there is smoke."  
  
Ginny looked ahead, trying to adjust her eyes to see clearly in the dark, but failed.  
  
"I can't see it. I'm not used to the dark." Ginny explained regretfully.  
  
"Ah, always bright in Virginia isn't it? Brighter than here it is anyway. I collect water every day so I am quite used to it."  
  
Ginny gave him a weak smile, looking straight ahead. Soon the village came to view, a large sign saying Plymouth in front of it.  
  
"You live in Plymouth?" Ginny asked taken aback. She had heard of Plymouth. Very famous town.  
  
"Aye. My parents and my brother visited Plymouth a few years ago when we were travelling. We have been here ever since." He gave a little laugh. His laugh was light-hearted and made her want to laugh with him.  
  
They reached the gate and Orlando opened it. It was a small gate, welcoming anyone to come in. The village, however, was big. It was twice the size of the Tykharma (the tribe that she ran away from) village, which said a lot. There weren't very many people out. Just some fetching a chicken or doing some errands. Ginny suspected that it was dinner time. Her stomach was grumbling like mad.  
  
"Do you want to come in?" Orlando invited as he opened the door to his house.  
  
"Oh yes, please." Ginny said thankfully.  
  
"You can stay for the night. . .if you like," Orlando invited again, holding the door open for her to step in. "The wife and I will not mind. I only have one brother living with me. My parents live down the road." He jerked his head in the direction of his parents' house and closed the door behind them.  
  
Orlando's house was big, but cosy. It was a wooden house, like most of them were. Ginny guessed that he was rich for his house was bigger than most were.  
  
"Jennifer! Set the table for four! We have a guest!" Orlando bellowed to someone. He put the water on the floor and took his shoes off. "Jennifer is my wife," he explained. "And with a house as big as this, she has to work extremely hard to keep it in good condition. To tell you the truth, we need a servant, but no one will do it." He gave a deep sigh.  
  
"I'll do it. . .if I get paid," Ginny offered, taking her shoes and coat off and putting it on a hook.  
  
Orlando looked quite surprised. "I have never heard of a woman ask a man for pay," he said.  
  
"Well, now you have."  
  
Orlando sighed. "You are a brave girl. But since we really need someone, then alright. How much do you want to be paid?" he asked.  
  
"A galleon a day?" Ginny suggested.  
  
"Excuse me?" Orlando looked at her as if she had totally lost it. 'A galleon of what?' his eyes said.  
  
"Oh, erm. . .what can you pay me?" Ginny blushed furiously, remembering that she wasn't in the 1990's anymore.  
  
"We could pay you with food, clothing, we can give you some nails and whatever you think is appropriate for the amount of work you have done for us."  
  
"Oh, OK. Let me think about it," Ginny enquired, trying to hide her face that was turning redder than her hair, hiding her freckles.  
  
"Alright. Now you must be hungry. I most certainly am. Let us eat, then," Orlando said, Ginny's blushing face passing by him like it happened every day that girls acted really stupid.  
  
Ginny followed him into the kitchen where his wife, Jennifer, was standing behind a chair, waiting for everyone to come. Jennifer was a fair woman, her brown curly hair braided and a cap that would simply look silly in her own time. She wore a brown dress with an apron round her waist and she was barefoot.  
  
"Hello, child. And whoever might you be?" she asked politely.  
  
"I'm Ginny, your new servant," Ginny replied as politely as she could manage.  
  
"Oh, Orlando, you brought a servant! How wonderful!" Jennifer clapped her hands together in delight.  
  
"And she is a very brave girl, she is. She asked to be paid," Orlando said from behind Ginny.  
  
"Well, that will not be a problem, will it? We are quite wealthy if I do say so myself."  
  
Ginny smiled with relief. She was so lucky she had ended up with them. A loving woman, a kind man and. . .  
  
There were footsteps behind them and a boy at around eighteen appeared in the doorway. He looked like Orlando, only he was a little smaller and looked much more alive. Ginny suddenly felt her heart beat harder, she felt wobbly and warm inside. Ginny realised that she had a huge crush on him.  
  
"Oh, Ginny, this is my brother, Alexander. Alexander, this is Ginny, our new servant.  
  
. . .and the hunk of the year.  
  
A/N: I'm really sorry how boring this chapter is but I had to get this over and done with! OK I'm not going to get dramatical about this (again) but please be so kind to review *big sad puppy eyes*! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez!!!!  
  
Toodles! 


	8. An Axe and a Story

Draco didn't want to admit it but he was scared. The axe swinging above him from the left to the right was inviting a slow and painful death. Of all things they had to choose a pit and pendulum. This included a sharp edge that would dig into his skin, which brought a painful memory. . .  
  
FLASHBACK  
  
"Come here, boy! Don't be a coward," Lucius ordered as he tried to ensnare Draco to come. Draco was only thirteen at the time when it happened. Thirteen meant weak and weak meant pain.  
  
He was backing away from his Father and wished with all his heart that there was no wall behind him when he hit it.  
  
"Father, please. Please have mercy on me," Draco pleaded while looking, or rather staring, at the dagger that his Father was holding in his left hand. He was left-handed like Draco. It was hereditary: everyone born to the family was left-handed.  
  
The dagger was long and this, with a razor-sharp edge. Draco's heart started beating harder and he began to tremble when the moonlight that ushered through the window eagerly caught the metal, making it shimmer unpleasantly.  
  
"You will have to learn someday that mercy is a weakness which is just what you showed today. Just like love is a weakness, just like tears are a weakness." Draco had given his pocket money to a poor seven-year-old in town earlier that day. She was dressed in old and rough material and her big brown eyes tempted Draco vastly. It somehow infuriated Lucius.  
  
"I'll never do it again, Father, I promise!" Draco begged. If his Father wasn't so close to him, he would be on his knees, begging for mercy. Tears started streaming down his face, which Draco regretted to the most afterwards.  
  
"Ah, tears. Son, I will have to strengthen you, harden your heart." His Father raised his dagger while Draco's eyes followed them in regret and fear. It was simply a beginning of a fear of knives, sharp edges and other cutting things.  
  
He never cried since. . .  
  
END OF FLASHBACK  
  
. . .Despite his fear, Draco kept a straight face.  
  
"Tell us," a deep man's voice spoke. Draco didn't dare look at him. His eyes were fixed on the axe, not capable of taking his eyes off it. "Where can we find what you stole from the Yeungese?"  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about," Draco stated truthfully through gritted teeth.  
  
"Where is the ship!" The man commanded.  
  
"Yeah, right. We took your ship, carried it over the countryside and hid it in the bushes. We camouflaged it so you couldn't find it. Mwa ha ha ha ha." Draco replied sarcastically.  
  
"This is no time for games, boy! Where is it?!" The man demanded again.  
  
"How would I know? I'm Yeungese. English."  
  
"But you are part of their tribe. Where is it?"  
  
"Besides, what use would it be to you?" Draco posed suspiciously.  
  
"No, not to us. . .to the Plymouth village, it would. They need it for transport, you see. They need to pay taxes and such to England. The English tax people demand another ship and leave theirs for cleaning and fixing," the man explained.  
  
"What's in it for you?" Draco requested.  
  
"Stop asking stupid questions, boy and tell us where it is!!!" The man was getting very angry. No, furious was a better word. "Either tell, or die a slow painful death, with an axe digging into your skin slowly and painfully.  
  
By that time, the axe was only a good twenty centimetres away from his chest, getting lower and lower, very slowly. . .  
  
"I don't know where your ship is, and hell! I don't even know what you're bloody talking about. I can't find out because they'll be on the run by now, and I know that won't go to their winter place, because everyone knows where it is, so please, could you let me go now?" Draco stated desperately.  
  
"I know you are familiar with something of use to us. I can see it by your bravery. You do not cower."  
  
Draco snorted. "Puh-lease. If anyone from my family were being tortured to death, they'd do it with style," Draco explained in a tone that said 'everyone knows that'.  
  
Draco gripped the sides of the wooden table he was chained to forcefully and howled a howl of pain as the axe dug deep into his chest.  
  
*****  
  
"Ginny, dear, would you make some butter?" Jennifer asked Ginny while mixing a disgusting-looking dough. It looked like a ton of flower mixed with a little water for flavour. It was the day after Ginny's arrival and she was already as busy as her mother was when all her children were at home: cleaning clothes, cooking meals, all for nine people.  
  
Ginny had to have her hair down so no one would see the fox's head painted on her cheek. It was hard to hide it but she had to.  
  
"Sure," Ginny replied and fetched the milk. She took a sort of club that was used to stir it. "Err. It's been a long time, Jennifer. I've forgotten how to do this."  
  
"Alright. I will make the butter. Will you so kindly knead the dough?" Jennifer enquired of Ginny and started making the butter. Ginny went over to the dough and put it on the table. She started kneading the solid bread dough with great difficulty.  
  
"So. . .how long are you planning to stay?" Jennifer asked Ginny after a short, awkward silence.  
  
"Oh, I dunno. I'm looking for someone, that's all," Ginny retorted.  
  
"Eh? Who are you searching for, child?" Jennifer was a curious person, Ginny had learnt only by knowing her for a day. She was easy to talk to, but sometimes she got a bit nosy.  
  
"His name's Draco. He's my only hope of getting home," Ginny said truthfully.  
  
"Draco. . .isn't that Latin for Dragon?" Jennifer asked. Ginny turned around vigorously.  
  
"W-well, i-it could be." How could this woman know Latin? From what Ginny remembered in muggle history, at this time, people didn't get education at all. . .except for important people, of course.  
  
Jennifer seemed to read her mind. "Oh, you are wondering why I know these things," she said. "Well, I was a rich girl, I was. The Baron's daughter, back in England. Only fourteen. Orlando and his family worked for my Father. Orlando was my Father's personal servant. We bumped into each other one night when both of us could not sleep. It was in the kitchens. When you cannot sleep, eating helps, did you know that?" Ginny shook her head. "Well, we started talking and found that we had much in common. We liked to be free. Carpe Diem, I used to say." She saw Ginny's confused look. "It means cease the day.  
  
We started meeting regularly in secret. We eventually fell in love when I was fifteen, he eighteen. I was engaged to the Duke's son. Handsome as he was, I did not love him. When I told my Father this, he was furious." A tear started making its way down Jennifer's cheek. "He threatened to have me executed. I got scared.  
  
At the same time, Orlando's parents wanted to come here. They were not happy in my Father's service. A cruel man he was. So, I went with them. I crept out in the dead of the night and stayed at Orlando's house for the night. The next morning we ran to the Mayflower, the ship, before my Father would realise we were gone." Jennifer looked up at Ginny and smiled. "But this was all those years ago. I am twenty, now, a woman. My Father has surely found that my sister is a good replacement. She was as cruel as he. But anyway, what's your story?" Jennifer asked finally, before more tears would stream down her face.  
  
"Well, it's kinda private. I came here by accident. Draco was sent to bring me back and now I've lost him. That's all I can say," Ginny told Jennifer.  
  
There was another silence. This time, no one spoke for ten minutes when suddenly Alexander came in. Ginny felt warm in the pit of her stomach and she began to get nervous.  
  
"Hello Jennifer. Hello Ginny. So, Ginny. How's life?" Alexander sat down at the opposite Ginny.  
  
Ginny felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she answered. "It's alright, I guess. Just a bit depressed."  
  
"And why is that?" Alexander leaned forward.  
  
"I just lost somebody. I'd rather not talk about it," Ginny stated.  
  
"Alright then. No pressure," Alexander said as he leaned back in his chair. "We are going to visit the Mahanett tribe this afternoon. Are you up for it? Or would you rather stay here with Jennifer?"  
  
"Why on earth visit a tribe?" Ginny asked him peculiarly.  
  
"Well, we need the information that they have so far, do we not?" Jennifer cleared her throat and Alexander looked her way.  
  
"She is not from Plymouth. She does not know," Jennifer told him.  
  
"Oh. If that is the case, I shall tell you the story on the way. We shall be taking horses."  
  
*****  
  
The journey to the Mahanett tribe took a good two hours. Ginny was put on Alexander's horse and they went quite fast. Alexander told her about the stolen ship, how it was gone one day.  
  
When they arrived, the chief told Orlando that there was a man that wouldn't give any information, although he had it.  
  
"I know he has information. He is brave. And he therefore does not give any," the chief had said.  
  
"Show me to him, I shall try," Orlando, being the older one, had said.  
  
They showed them to the man, but Ginny was left outside a small barred window in the big hut, with Alexander. It was made of stone and Ginny didn't know how they could make something as strong as that at these times.  
  
Little did she know she was being watched. . .  
  
*****  
  
Draco sat in his cell looking out the small, barred window. The powwaw hadn't been able to heal his wound on his chest, but it wasn't deep enough to kill him. It was only capable of making him weaker. He could barely move without wincing in pain.  
  
He heard footsteps outside. A little later, he noticed two pair of feet and two voices. A woman's voice and a man's voice. The man could be little more than eighteen and the woman probably about sixteen or seventeen, judging from the voiced and feet sizes.  
  
The people started talking again. He recognised the feminine voice. Ginny. Before he could say anything, two pair of arms seized his upper arms and he was taken away.  
  
A/N: That was that chapter. Please review. OK, you probably know that reviews are my only strength blah blah blah etc etc etc.!!!!!  
  
Please please review and stay tuned for the next chapter!  
  
Toodles!!! 


	9. Caught

The questions the dark-haired Englishman asked were very difficult to answer given that Draco hadn't a clue what the answers were! The questioning seemed to go on for hours and Draco still tried to convince them that he didn't know anything and the cut on his chest wasn't helping.  
  
They had almost started whipping him when the dark-haired man told them (finally) that Draco wouldn't be of any use. He was tossed back into his cell and to his utmost frustration, Ginny was now gone. He swore out loud, receiving odd glares from other prisoners in other cells. He wondered how much longer he'd live. . .  
  
*****  
  
Ginny was quite disappointed when Orlando came back. She and Alexander had been getting to know each other. Alexander had said that he had to leave much behind in England. Friends, relatives, pets (although they only had a cow, he still loved it).  
  
Ginny had said that she was from Virginia, England originally but she had been travelling from Virginia. She said that she had been shadowed by her own brothers, which was true, and that was the reason she had come to Plymouth.  
  
"Come on Ginny, Alexander. We need to get back," Orlando told them as he got on his small black horse. Ginny's and Alexander's horse was white with silvery grey manes and grey eyes. Ginny sighed. That horse reminded her too much of Draco. She let Alexander lift her onto the horse and watched as he got onto it himself. That done, she put her arms around his waist and rested her head against his shoulder and fell asleep. . .  
  
. . .when Ginny woke up, she was lying on the solid dirty ground, the stinging nettles burning her skin as she moved. She opened her eyes. It was dark. She was in woodland. She stood up and started to walk aimlessly. She had no idea where she was. Her skin was burning from where the stinging nettles had touched her.  
  
She had been abandoned for some reason. Why'd they do it? Had they seen the clan mark on her cheek? Were they simply barbarians that left innocent girls on the ground, sleeping with absolutely no place to go?  
  
She should have known better than to trust them. They were complete strangers. Something worse could have happened to her. She could have been killed or enslaved. Even raped.  
  
How could she have been so stupid? What would she do now? She didn't know her way back to the Mahanett tribe. She didn't know where she was! Why did she have to fall asleep?  
  
Ginny walked until she heard the rustling of leaves. It was too loud to have been the wind. Thinking of ideas what it could be, her heart began to race as she looked around. There was movement in the trees. There was a huge shadow. It was about half a tree in size, and the trees in this woodland were massive. It moved very swiftly for something so big. Ginny found herself running out of air so she breathed faster.  
  
Ginny broke into a sprint. The big shadow followed her. It ran too fast for her. In no time at all, it had circled the trees and ended up standing in front of her, making her stop in her tracks.  
  
As the moonlight caught the creature, she could make out a wolf on two legs; its front legs were long and hanging, nearly touching the ground. Its dark brown fur was dirty and looked like prickles from where Ginny was standing. It was showing its big acid teeth off and was drooling huge saliva. It was too big to be a normal wolf, though. Ginny looked at the sky, at the moon. It was full. . .  
  
Ginny backed away from the werewolf, hitting a nearby tree. Things started to make sense: maybe Alexander and Orlando abandoned her for her own safety. Maybe this was either of them. They might have been werewolves.  
  
The werewolf attacked. . .  
  
*****  
  
Draco woke up with a start. His breathing was rapid and uneven as he thought about what he'd just dreamt: Ginny being attacked by a werewolf. It was too much to bear. She was with those horrible, torturing people. . .she might not be safe. She might even be dead. What if that had, indeed, happened. Draco didn't want to think about it, about her. But for some reason, everything linked to her:  
  
He tried to look at the sky, but the sun reminded him of her fiery red and wavy locks.  
  
He tried to look at the ground, but the brown dirt reminded him of her chocolate eyes.  
  
Looking at his hands, his pale skin reminded him of how pale she was.  
  
Looking at the other prisoners, in their state, they looked like beggars- poor, no money. . .Ginny.  
  
If he concentrated on how much he hated Potter, Ginny would come to his mind because of her crush on him.  
  
This was getting very exasperating, so he gave up and let his mind think what it wanted.  
  
*****  
  
The trip home (if she could call it home) on the white horse with Alexander, and Orlando in front of them on the black horse, seemed to take shorter time than expected. It was getting dark when they rode home, making it seem more dangerous. Ginny liked adventures.  
  
She busied herself thinking about what could be lurking behind those trees: Vampires, werewolves (it wasn't a full moon, but hey! The girl's got imagination!), nymphs, anything!  
  
It was quite chilly, and Ginny shivered. "Are you cold?" Alexander asked.  
  
"A little. . .OK, a lot," Ginny replied.  
  
"There's a blanket in the bag. I took it just in case." Ginny hadn't noticed that on each side of the horse were bags. She searched both of them and found a big white cotton blanket, a bit muddy, but Ginny was freezing. She wrapped it around herself and looked down at it.  
  
Startling her, there was a spider crawling up the blanket. Ginny screamed and Alexander stopped the horse, followed by Orlando. "What is it Ginny?" Alexander asked, turning his head to look at her.  
  
Ginny was relieved it was getting dark, for Alexander couldn't see the blush that was creeping to her face. "Oh, there was a spider on the blanket. . .it scared me, that's all."  
  
Alexander laughed, making Ginny's face turn even redder than it already was.  
  
Ginny was bored stiff the rest of the journey. No one talked and Ginny ended up falling into a dreamless sleep.  
  
When she woke up she was in a bed. It wasn't very soft but not very much harder than her own at the Burrow. She opened her eyes and found Alexander looking at her with narrowed eyes.  
  
"I should have known," he said.  
  
Ginny was confused. Known what? "Known what?" she asked him, sitting up.  
  
He cradled her chin with his strong hands and tilted her head to her right, which shot pain through her whole face. "That," he clarified. Ginny knew he meant the fox head on her cheek.  
  
He removed his hand and Ginny positioned her head so she was facing him. "I-I can explain," she tried, but Alexander had already grabbed her arm and led her out of the room.  
  
"Orlando, Jennifer, come and see this!" he shouted. In a matter of seconds, Jennifer, looking very much in disarray, and Orlando rushed into the room.  
  
Alexander grabbed her chin again and tilted her head for them to see. "My goodness," Jennifer said as she plopped in a chair, her eyes wide in horror. Orlando, however, showed a side to him that Ginny never suspected he had.  
  
Orlando walked briskly over to them in three strides and pointed an accusing finger at Ginny. "Are you some kind of spy for them?" Ginny shook her head. "Even if you were, you lied and that is the worst sin of all and you deserve to be punished severely." he said and sapped her on the cheek. Ginny screamed.  
  
"What shall we do with her?" Alexander asked Orlando through gritted teeth. This family could obviously get very angry very easily.  
  
"I guess we are in for another trip to the Mahanett's are we not?" Ginny begged him not to put her there to be tortured, but he didn't listen. . .  
  
The Mahanett Indians were eating lunch when they arrived, but the chief came to greet them. Alexander and Orlando had her hands tied behind her back and they dragged her with them, tossing her around carelessly. They threw her on the ground in front of the chief.  
  
"This lass is a liar and a traitor. We would like her to be put in the Pit of Despair," Orlando announced. The chief didn't need more information. He simply clicked his fingers and two Indians came to manhandle her away.  
  
They had many prisoners. Many were sharing a cell, Ginny noticed as the Indians led her to her own. The prisoners were suffering, moaning and some fighting. They had obviously just thrown anyone in any cell, because there were men and women and children alike in the same cell. They fought about food, drink, everything. Ginny did not look forward to seeing who she would be sharing a cell with.  
  
They chucked her in a small cell and Ginny began to cry immediately, face down on the floor. It wasn't until she heard a deep voice that she looked up.  
  
"Hello. Come here often?"  
  
*****  
  
A/N: Cliffhanger! Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha etc. . . . . . . OK, please review. I won't go on to the dramatic stuff (sadly) and I'll just say REVIEW!!! I'm getting quicker at this aren't I? Well, it's the CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS!!!! I'll be able to post more often!!! Yippee!!! OK, just review. . . 


	10. Kiss Chase Mr Werewolf

"Hello. Come here often?"  
  
Ginny turned around sharply to face the intruder. The man was leaning against the wall and he looked like he was sleeping but wasn't. The blonde hair and grey eyes made Ginny almost jump in happy realisation.  
  
"Draco!!" she said. She jumped up and ran over to him and hugged him hard. She had found him. She had finally found him! He had been there all along.  
  
"Virginia, please. . .don't," he said with difficulty. He sounded in pain.  
  
"What is it?" Ginny asked him, drawing apart. Then she noticed the deep cut he had on his chest and the blood that was pouring down his chest and onto his lap, making a bug puddle of blood. Ginny gasped. "Draco, what have they done to you?!" Ginny asked him while searching her pockets for a handkerchief.  
  
"Pit and Pendulum, that's what. Those bloody bastards, they-" Draco started but Ginny hushed him by putting a finger to his soft lips.  
  
"Sssh."  
  
*****  
  
Draco was so glad that he was finally with Ginny again he would have started dancing around if he weren't so weak. Right then, she was wiping the blood off his stomach and then turned to his cut.  
  
"Draco, I want you to stay still now, OK?" Ginny told Draco, who nodded. She started patting his cut lightly. Even as light as that was, it still hurt. Draco grabbed her hand.  
  
"Don't," he said.  
  
"Draco, you big baby. It'll be over soon. I promise." He let go of her hand and concentrated on her face as she carried on treating his cut so it wouldn't hurt as much. He realised how amazing she was. Her beautiful curves. Her narrowed brown eyes as she carefully wiped the blood away. Her red wavy shoulder-length hair lying on her shoulders. Her red lips in which she bit when she was concentrating hard.  
  
"There," she said. "I finished." Ginny ripped the bottom of her skirt twice and tied the two pieces of material together. She then signalled for Draco to sit upright and he did. She tied the material around hid chest like a bandage. She looked at Draco and noticed that he was looking at her.  
  
"What're you looking at?" she asked him. Draco couldn't help himself. The feelings he had been keeping hidden in his heart ever since the lake incident finally took it's lead. He put his hand on the back of her neck, pulled her face down and locked her lips with his.  
  
She responded without hesitating. It was a soft and tender kiss. It was slow in a nice way. There wasn't too much tongue but not too little either. She was so sweet-tasting. She had probably eaten an apple before she was thrown in, for she tasted like one.  
  
Ginny was the one to break the kiss. Much to Draco's relief, she was smiling. She wasn't angry at him. "We ought to be finding a way out of here, Draco," she said and stood up.  
  
"Yeah, you're right."  
  
There was an awkward silence. "What about the window?" Draco suggested.  
  
"No, there are guards that'll notice us before we even get through it," Ginny said.  
  
"What about the bars over there. They're quite far apart. Can you fit through them?" Draco asked, waving his hand in the direction of the fourth wall.  
  
"Well, that would have been a bit too obvious don't you think?" Ginny asked him.  
  
"Just try it. Surely you're thin enough to fit through them."  
  
Ginny blushed at the compliment and tried. She did, in fact, fit. She looked up at Draco and smiled. "Now go and find something to hit the guard with and get the keys," Draco ordered and Ginny looked around. Finding a heavy stick behind her, she tiptoed out of Draco's sight.  
  
After a few minutes silence, Draco heard a noisy thump and Ginny came running back to him. She opened the door and helped Draco up. He was still very weak but he thought he could do this.  
  
Once they'd knocked a few other guards out, they were finally free. They spotted a few horses that were tied to nearby trees. They ran over to the horses and untied one of them.  
  
"Hey! Black Raven, Pink Ostrich! (A/N: ; )couldn't resist) Come here, quick!" A man shouted. Soon enough, two strong-looking men appeared behind him and they began to run towards them. There was no time. Draco, who had already gotten on the horse, lifted Ginny up and placed her in front of him. He made a 'Hya! Noise and kicked the horse, holding on to a rope that was used to control it. The men that were after them didn't reach them in time, but untied two other horses and got on. And so the chase started.  
  
Draco went even faster. Ginny was sitting opposite him, holding on to him in a death grip. Draco looked down at her. She was resting her head on his bandaged chest and closed her eyes. She looked peaceful, yet scared at the same time.  
  
The men were getting closer and closer. Draco had the feeling that he hadn't chosen the fastest horse. Still, he kicked the horse again and again and the horse tried its best. It was running, sprinting.  
  
One of the men managed to catch up with him and was to Draco's left. Draco kicked the horse again, but it couldn't go any faster. Soon enough, the other one was on his right. The Indians reached out to him, trying to punch him unconscious.  
  
But Draco was quick-witted and stopped sharply. The men were taken by surprise and almost fell off their horses, but to Draco's frustration, they didn't and the turned around. Draco took a sharp turn to the right, towards a Forest. It wasn't long until the men were in the same position as before, and this time they were prepared.  
  
Ginny had opened her eyes and she started screaming. She was terrified of the men and Draco felt her shaking against his bare chest. The men got closer to him and closer, until Draco couldn't even turn his horse. He did the first thing that came to his head and punched the one to his left. The man flew off the horse, unconscious and the horse ran away, glad to be free.  
  
Draco took a sharp left turn. Only one man left. The man, once again, got to his right and tried to punch him. The man missed and hit Ginny instead. She screamed louder. Draco felt Ginny's grip loosen as she fell unconscious.  
  
Draco was angry. Very angry. He was furious. Draco felt for his wand. He found it in his 'trousers'. He had shrunk it and put a hardening charm so it wouldn't break. Whenever he took it out, it would grow to its normal size. It was hazel, 12 inch, dragon scales and snake fangs. The handle was pure silver. The most expensive one you could get.  
  
"Petrificus Totalus!" Draco shouted, pointing his wand at the man. The man fell off his horse on his head and a loud crack was heard. Draco smirked and headed for woodland.  
  
Once in the nearest woodland, Draco stopped the horse and got off. He held Ginny in his muscular arms and walked over to a nice, soft spot. He laid her down and went off to find some herbs to use on her cut that the man had given her on her forehead when he punched her.  
  
It was dark when he got back and she was gone.  
  
*****  
  
When Ginny woke up, she was lying on the solid dirty ground, the stinging nettles burning her skin as she moved. Her head was aching like mad. She opened her eyes. It was dark. She was in woodland. She stood up and started to walk aimlessly. She had no idea where she was. Her skin was burning from where the stinging nettles had touched her.  
  
She had been abandoned for some reason. Why'd he do it? Was Draco just using her to get out of the Mahanetts' prison?  
  
She should have known better than to trust him. To think! She healed him and she had fallen for that kiss! She could have been killed.  
  
How could she have been so stupid? What would she do now? She didn't know where she was! Why did she have to fall for his kisses?  
  
Ginny walked until she heard the rustling of leaves. It was too loud to have been the wind. Thinking of ideas what it could be, her heart began to race as she looked around. There was movement in the trees. There was a huge shadow. It was about half a tree in size, and the trees in this woodland were massive. It moved very swiftly for something so big. Ginny found herself running out of air so she breathed faster.  
  
Ginny broke into a sprint. The big shadow followed her. It ran too fast for her. In no time at all, it had circled the trees and ended up standing in front of her, making her stop in her tracks.  
  
As the moonlight caught the creature, she could make out a wolf on two legs; its front legs were long and hanging, nearly touching the ground. Its dark brown fur was dirty and looked like prickles from where Ginny was standing. It was showing its big acid teeth off and was drooling huge saliva. It was too big to be a normal wolf, though. Ginny looked at the sky, at the moon. It was full. . .  
  
Ginny backed away from the werewolf, hitting a nearby tree. She was too scared to think.  
  
The werewolf attacked. . .Ginny's eyes snapped shut. She waited for the werewolf's claws to rip her guts out, its teeth to dig into her skin. She waited for it to kill her.  
  
For some reason, the werewolf hesitated. Well, that's what she thought until she opened her eyes. The scene before her caused her to gasp and scared her even more. Draco was on the werewolf's back, with his wand in hand, pressing the handle to its forehead. Ginny was confused. Why would he do that?  
  
(A/N: I have no idea how a werewolf reacts to silver so this is how they do in my head)  
  
When the werewolf's forehead began to give off smoke, Ginny was even more confused. The werewolf seemed to be hurting. Ginny's eyes went wide as the werewolf started to burn, ashes falling off its forehead. Draco let go and watched. The werewolf fell to the ground making no sound at all.  
  
Ginny looked to Draco. He was staring at the remains of the werewolf. Then he looked up at Ginny, whose chest was rising and falling in fright. Ginny let out a quick breath and ran over to Draco, giving him a big hug. Draco hugged her back, wrapping his arms around her slim waist.  
  
"Are you OK?" Draco asked and pulled apart. Ginny nodded. Draco complete the moment by giving her a passionate kiss on the lips.  
  
*****  
  
A/N: OK I'll say it for you! FINALLY! Draco and Ginny kissed! Draco to the rescue! Ginny to the rescue! Both in the same chapter ; )  
  
OK, you know the deal! Review! Thanx!  
  
Toodles! See you in the next chapter! 


	11. Evil Again

A/N: I'm soooooooooooo sorry that I've been so long! I've been suffering from writer's block plus it's been really busy with x-mas and all! And then I was having problems with the internet and I couldn't log in : (! Life's a bitch! I'm really sorry, and I hope you'll forgive me *big sad puppy eyes*! Pretty please with a cherry on top!!!  
  
Right here's the story!  
  
When they finally broke apart, Draco fell hard to the ground as he made a face that had 'I'm in pain' written all over it. Ginny sat on her knees and looked at him sheepishly while she looked deep in concentration.  
  
Draco had heard a growling noise and had followed it, in case it could be danger to Ginny. When he saw the werewolf just about to attack her, he had dropped all the plants he was carrying and used all the strength he possessed to attack the werewolf. He had taken out his wand and pressed the handle against it, so it would fall to the ground, dead. And so it did.  
  
Draco had no strength left and wished with all his heart that he would die, but he also wanted to live as well. For once, he had something to live for and he was not about to give it up by dying.  
  
"Draco I'm so sorry!" Ginny apologised as she snapped out of her concentration. "I shouldn't have gone off like that! Will you ever forgive me?" Ginny cried on Draco's chest and the warm tears slid down his side.  
  
"Virginia. Don't cry, please don't cry," he said weakly as he ran his fingers through her hair. "It makes me feel awkward."  
  
"I'm really sorry, Draco. What am I going to do?" Ginny asked.  
  
"We've been without magic for so long that we don't even remember that we have our wands, do we?" Draco said sarcastically, although his voice was low and fuzzy, not hiding hid amusement. "Any knowledge in healing magic?"  
  
Ginny nodded. She was training to be a medi-witch with her friend, Monique. She was an expert from only about five months of training, although she hadn't been taught very many spells. Ginny took out her wand from her skirt pocket and healed Draco's wound, after taking the bandage off. Draco healed her cut on her forehead when she had taught him the spell.  
  
"It's not a very good spell, you know. It'll only make the wound disappear and it won't get infected. It won't stop any pain," Ginny had told him, but he said it was better than nothing. So Draco was still weak. Ginny still had her head ache.  
  
***** "It's my birthday in a few minutes, you know. I've been counting the days," Draco said out of the blue, while looking at his wizard watch that he had kept on his right wrist all this time, obviously trying to make conversation.  
  
"And when is that?" Ginny asked.  
  
"Valentine's Day. I'll be eighteen."  
  
"Virginia, what do you remember from what happened?" Draco asked her after a minute of awkward silence.  
  
"Erm. . .I remember the Indians chasing us, and then I screamed. And then I felt pain in my head and everything went black," Ginny explained. She was sitting beneath a tree and was resting her head and back on the trunk.  
  
"You don't feel tired at all?" Draco asked. Ginny shook her head. "Good. You don't have a concussion. How're you feeling by the way?"  
  
"My head is better. What about you? Got any strength yet?" she asked him.  
  
"A bit. If you really want to go we can see if the horse is still there," Draco suggested.  
  
Ginny stood up and wiped the dirt off her skirt. "Sure. If you want, you can stay here. I know my way back."  
  
Draco stood up slowly and used a tree for support. "No, it's OK. You'll get lost."  
  
"Draco, don't you trust me?" she asked him in mock surprise.  
  
Draco got a little irritated. He decided to scare her so she'd do what he said. Of course, it was mean, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.  
  
"Virginia, it's a full moon," Draco started walking towards her, taking small, slow strides. "It's dark, it's night. Do you know what lurks about in the trees at night?" Draco asked but answered for her, getting closer and closer. "Werewolves, vampires, nymphs, boggarts, zombies, jaguars, demons, temporal ghouls, dwarves, ogres, golems, mutants, and more. . .All these creatures could tear you apart and eat you in a second."  
  
"Draco, you're scaring me. Why are you suddenly so cold towards me?" Ginny asked and backed away from him, tears fighting to stream down her face. Draco didn't feel pity for her at all. He didn't know what had come over him, but he felt the need to destroy something. He grabbed her throat and pushed her against a tree, cutting off her air supply.  
  
"Draco. What are you doing? Let go!" Ginny pleaded, struggling to breathe. "Draco, what's wrong with you?!" Ginny grabbed his hand and tried to push it away, but Draco only tightened his grip.  
  
*****  
  
Ginny didn't know what was wrong with Draco. One minute he was asking how she was doing, and the next he was strangling her. She was very confused. She had never seen this Draco before. The Draco she knew was caring and listened to every word she said. This Draco was daunting and vicious. This was the Draco that Ron knew.  
  
Ginny looked into his eyes. They were cold and had a tad of red around his pupils and it was frightening Ginny. Ginny bit her lip. Draco eased his grip on her throat and blinked. The red was gone. He threw his hand back quickly. He looked confused, as if he didn't remember.  
  
Ginny touched his face. "Draco. Are you alright?" she asked.  
  
"Yes. . .no. I don't know. Virginia, I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. Something snapped inside my head. I wanted to kill. I wanted to kill. . .you."  
  
Ginny swallowed and gave him a hug. When she pulled away, she looked into his eyes again. No red. "Draco, what was that red colour in your eyes?" Ginny asked him, still looking into his eyes.  
  
*****  
  
Draco thought for a moment. His birthday. . .his Father's Deathbed suddenly came to Draco's mind and he knew. He knew what had happened.  
  
FLASHBACK!  
  
Lucius was lying on his Deathbed and Draco sat on a chair by his side. He felt no pity, no sorrow for his Father. He had gone beyond hating the man, and his mother had forced him to visit him. Draco looked into his Father's grey eyes with pure loathing and more.  
  
"I know you didn't want to see me, son. . ." Lucius started.  
  
"The hell I didn't! You did nothing but torture me since I was five years old! Last time I counted, I had twenty-five scars from your torturing. I hate you father!" Draco spat.  
  
"Son, there is something I must tell you. There has been a curse on our family since our ancestor from the fourteenth century became an undead. The spell was cast by the Dark Lord of that time, Salazar Slytherin himself. The curse is this: On your eighteenth birthday your blood will change. It will become pure evil. It will happen slowly, but it will happen. You will have the urge to destroy, and destroy you will. There is no known counter curse for this spell, so don't think you'll be able to stop it. Now go, Draco. Leave."  
  
Draco stood up. "Bullshit," he hissed and left his Father to die.  
  
Draco didn't attend the funeral, or ever saw him again. . .  
  
END OF FLASHBACK!  
  
Draco recalled and he knew. He never knew what his Father meant by 'Since our ancestor became an undead'. Draco hadn't believed what his Father had told him, until now-  
  
"Draco, are you OK? Do you know what happened?" a female voice asked. It sounded far away, and it echoed in his mind. Draco opened his eyes, in which he had closed and saw the owner of the voice. It was Ginny and her brandy eyes were pleading, begging to know.  
  
"No," he answered, shaking his head slowly. "No, I don't know."  
  
Draco felt bad about lying to Ginny. Bloody hell, Draco! He thought and mentally punched himslef. Gosh, how she´d changed him! How she´d done it, Draco didn´t know. When they first met in America, Draco had been putting on a kind act, so he wouldn´t scare her away. And if he scared her away, it´d take a lifetime to get back! Goddamnit, Draco! No-one changes a Malfoy! Just drop the act! He thought to himself furiously.  
  
Draco had somehow got energy in his little evil fit. It had healed his wound and it didn´t hurt anymore. Dark Magic. . .  
  
Draco´s expression hardened and he grabbed Ginny´s wrist. "Let´s find the bloody horse!" he commanded harshly and dragged her behind him.  
  
"But Draco-" Ginny protested, but to no avail.  
  
Draco spun around to face her and cradled her chin with his free hand. He meant it to hurt and her expression told him that he was succeeding. "Don't argue with me, girl! We're going and we're going now!"  
  
Ginny spun away from his grasp and stood up to him. "I'm not going with you unless you stop being a bastard, Malfoy!" she threatened.  
  
Draco crossed his arms in amusement and mocked her. "Weasel, you're asking much. You're asking me to change my personality. No one can do that." He shook his head and smirked at her na?ve behaviour.  
  
"What's happened to you? Why are you acting this way? You seemed do kind and caring just ten minutes ago!" Ginny's eyes were wide in confusion, and her lip was twitching.  
  
"Nothing's happened to me, Weasley. I'm just another Malfoy! Bastard just happens to be in my nature! You can stay here, I don't care! I'm going to find the horse and get back to our normal time!" Draco shouted at her. The guilt was gone. His pride had taken over again, and Draco liked it. He felt better. Once again, he felt power over her.  
  
Draco turned on his heel and started walking to the horse, in which he spotted after a few minutes walk. Light footsteps behind him told him that Ginny was following him quietly, probably awestruck.  
  
Once he reached the horse, Draco got on and gave Ginny his hand. Even if he was a Malfoy, he had been taught to be a Gentleman towards Ladies. Ginny didn't take it, but merely got on the horse herself, and struggling, much to Draco's amusement. He chuckled as she made no attempt to hold on to him, but she held on to the horse instead.  
  
Draco kicked the horse and it started running through the Forest. Ginny got frightened and decided to hold on to Draco after all, because at this speed, she would fall off if she didn't.  
  
Draco was proud. He was proud to have no feelings whatsoever. He had changed from demon to human and back to demon. He had learnt that goodness wasn't what he was destined for. He was destined for something bigger, greater, and more powerful. Something as powerful as the Dark Mark. . .  
  
*****  
  
A/N: Once again, I'm so sorry for being lazier than intended! : (!  
  
Thanx for all your reviews and I hope you like this chapter!!! Review!!!  
  
Click that button! I I I I I I 


	12. Red Again

Ginny didn't know where they were going and she very much doubted that Draco did, either. They rode through the Forest and across open land, not bumping into anyone. Ginny was scared of Draco. He was so different, now. He was back to his cold self. He was back to the person he was when his Father was alive.  
  
Ginny rested her head against him and a tear slid out of her eye and onto his muscled back. "Happy Birthday, Draco," she said and squeezed her eyes shut.  
  
She heard Draco snort. "I'll make sure that I'll have a very happy birthday. Wait, I just got something in. . ." Draco put his index and middle finger on his right hand together and pressed them lightly against his right ear as if he was trying to hear something from a headset. "I just got this in. We have discovered that hell has frozen over."  
  
They carried on in silence except for Draco muttering something about naïve Weasels. "We'll go over there to that little forest and find some food. I'm starved," Draco suggested.  
  
The horse stopped in its tracks and Ginny let go of Draco as he got off. He offered to help her off but Ginny refused and got down herself. Draco just shrugged his shoulders and started picking some berries from some of the bushes and ate them like there was no tomorrow. Ginny copied shyly, taking one berry and eating it slowly. She had lost her appetite when Draco had made that comment on his birthday.  
  
Draco sat down, leaning against a tree and stretched luxuriously. He closed his eyes and seemed asleep, so Ginny started strolling for her own pleasure. "Where are you going?" Draco asked, his eyes still closed.  
  
"I'm taking a walk. I'll be back later," Ginny explained and walked on. The beauty of the forest left her amazed. It was so rich in the sunlight. The birds were singing love songs as Ginny thought about Draco's sudden change in behaviour. Ginny didn't know what happened but she had a feeling that it had something to do with his birthday.  
  
The situation was way over her head. She didn't ask for this. If only she had listened in that bloody Transfiguration class. Ginny frowned and separated and apple from a tree and took a bite. Apples were her favourite. She loved the sourness of them and tasting the juice. It was like heaven.  
  
Heaven. . .a place that Ginny wished for Draco to go but he would never. His offences were too horrible and too many. Hell would be more like it for Draco. Ginny was sure he'd enjoy his stay in Hell. Except for the heat of course. . .  
  
Ginny kept on walking and found herself by a small pond, created by the rain. It was big enough for a person so she decided to relax a little in it.  
  
She stripped off her clothes and stepped in the frosty water and relaxed, shivering only for a few minutes. Ginny stayed in the water, enjoying the feel of water against her skin once again in days. She carefully washed her hair until there was no filth left. It took a while and before she knew it, it was sunset.  
  
Ginny quickly got out of the water and stood on the solid ground for a few minutes, allowing the warm breeze to dry her slightly. It only took her a few minutes to dry, but her fiery hair stayed wet, although she tried to get most of the water out.  
  
Ginny put her clothes on and ensured that she had her wand. She did. She walked back quietly and by the time she got back, it was dark, and Draco sat there still, sleeping.  
  
"Draco," Ginny whispered and knelt beside his sleeping form. Draco stirred, yet he didn't open his eyes.  
  
"Go 'way," he said in a slightly muffled voice. Ginny smiled unwillingly but quickly wiped it away.  
  
"Draco, it's sunset. Are we going to stay here or are we going to carry on?" Ginny asked him.  
  
"We'll stay here and sleep. I haven't had proper sleep for days," Draco retorted.  
  
Ginny was surprised by his sharpness but lay down a distance from him and drifted away into dreamland.  
  
*****  
  
When Draco woke up in the middle of the night, he was not alone. The vampire from the camp was back and it was not happy about its timing. Its head was just above him, ready to bite. Draco pushed the vampire away with strength that he didn't know he possessed. The vampire was thrown back with force and when it looked at Draco, it smirked approvingly.  
  
"I see that the spell has, indeed taken effect," the vampire said.  
  
"How did you know about that?" Draco asked and glared at the creature that would have made any human think twice about bothering him, but this vampire wasn't human.  
  
"Would you like to hear a story, young boy?" it asked and stood up gracefully. Draco did the same, but said nothing.  
  
"You ancestor from the fourteenth century was a vampire. You, however, are not part vampire because it happened after he reproduced. He was bitten by my ancestor, to be precise. It happened on a dark night just after a Death Eater meeting. . .  
  
DRACO'S ANCESTOR'S STORY  
  
Venenifer Malfoy sat on a stone chair around a large stone table in a Death Eater meeting. It was England, 1345, some distance from London. On the end of the table, on Venenifer's left was his Master, Salazar Slytherin, who was giving each follower a mission to conquer. Venenifer was Slytherin's most loyal servant and it would stay that way.  
  
"Venenifer Malfoy, you shall have the honours of executing Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw. Godric Gryffindor I will take care of myself. You will all make a plan after this meeting except," Slytherin looked over at Venenifer and nodded towards him. "this Gentleman here. I have already conjured a plan for Venenifer Malfoy."  
  
Slytherin dismissed his followers and Venenifer stood up to listen to this "plan". Slytherin told him that Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff went for a stroll in the Forbidden Forest every night to clear their minds of frustration. Venenifer was to find them and murder them. He was allowed to torture what he wanted as long as they would eventually die.  
  
Venenifer nodded and stormed out of the room as Slytherin dismissed him. He apparated to Hogsmeade and used a carriage to get to Hogwarts School. Getting off the carriage, he walked to the Forbidden Forest and started searching for these two female good-doers that were destined to die that evening.  
  
He searched the Forest high and low, and decided to rest as he was quite tired. He rested for a bit too long because he heard giggles coming from outside of the forest. Venenifer summoned his broom and mounted it. He kicked off into the air and saw two women, one blonde and one Raven-haired. These were the women that he was looking for.  
  
Venenifer decided to surprise them and put the full body bind on both women. Their legs and arms glued to their bodies and they fell to the ground. Venenifer felt his skin prickle and suspected that someone was watching him. The blonde Malfoy put his feet on the ground and started walking towards the edge of the forest.  
  
Venenifer was stopped by a strong hand grabbing him by the arm and spinning him around. A dark-haired creature in very expensive and elegant clothes stood before him. The creature was wearing a black cape, red on the inside which fluttered behind him with the wind. It was in black trousers and black stylish shoes and its shirt was red with black straps across diagonally.  
  
The creature hissed at him, showing off its teeth and fangs. Venenifer realised that this was a vampire as he got sight of the sharp fangs. The tall silver-eyed, blonde Malfoy took hold of his wand and muttered a curse which caused the vampire to fly backwards and hit its head on a tree.  
  
Venenifer suspected that the creature was unconscious and turned on his heel to deal with the women. He was proven wrong when the vampire flitted around him, grabbed him by the shoulder and head and sucked the blood out of him.  
  
He woke up later that night feeling the urge to have blood. Above him was his Master, Salazar Slytherin, muttering a curse. He was later told that all his descendants would now be pure evil. It was Venenifer's eighteenth birthday that night, so that would be when the curse started for his descendants.  
  
END OF DRACO'S ANCESTOR'S STORY  
  
Draco was speechless when he finished his story. But there was one question still in his head. "Why do you want my blood so much?" he asked.  
  
"I was on my way to England to find his descendant but then I smelled you here. I did not know that there was a Malfoy here in this country but here you are. So I decided to bite you instead. Last time, the blood wasn't pure yet, so I had to wait until your birthday. The reason I want to bite someone of your family is because your blood is special after that spell. If a vampire drinks all your blood they will become invincible. All strengths but no weaknesses. It's the same as being half-bitten. But you get other powers, too. Like the power to control blood sucking animals such as bats, mosquitoes, and more. A vampire would have the power to hypnotize with the simple look in the eyes. That is the power I seek," the vampire explained.  
  
Draco got ready to fight for it. To his surprise, the vampire walked in the direction of the sleeping Ginny. Draco didn't know what he was doing but the vampire traced Ginny's cheekbone with his long, pale fingers.  
  
"She's a pretty young woman," he said. "I know what I will do to ensure that I get your blood."  
  
Somehow, Draco didn't like where this was going. The vampire turned Ginny's head to Draco's direction and removed the hair from covering her neck. It sniffed Ginny. "She seems to have fine blood in her. Mr Malfoy, if I do not give me your blood, I will take hers."  
  
Draco didn't feel anything for the girl. No guilt came over him, no regret. "Take her. She means nothing to me," he said. He watched as Ginny's eyes opened and closed when the vampire bit her and sucked her blood.  
  
*****  
  
A/N: good place to stop ain't it? ^_^ Man, I'm cruel! plz review! Tell me if you liked it! Scary enough? Or am I crap at building up tension? lol! OK plz plz plz review!!! I *need* them. lol! OK plz stay tuned for the next chapter!  
  
p.s btw the way I imagine vampires is that is that if a vampire doesn't suck all the blood out of your body, you have all their strengths but none of their weaknesses but if they suck every single drop, you become a full vampire. OK? 


	13. Back to Plymouth

"Take her. She means nothing to me," Ginny heard Draco say without emotion in his voice as she woke up before she felt someone or something bite her neck and suck her blood out. Ginny opened her eyes and closed them again. She had seen Draco watch her being bitten with a blank expression. He wasn't going to save her at all, she knew, from his expression.  
  
Ginny knew that she had no power against a vampire so she didn't fight it for she would just get hurt. What she did, however, was the only thing she could manage in such a weak state. She whispered to him. "Draco. Draco, please help me." She opened her eyes again and silently pleaded with her eyes for him to save her.  
  
He seemed to have heard her plead because he attacked the vampire only a second later. He nailed it to the ground with force. Ginny watched in amazement at Draco's strength. The vampire seemed overpowered by Draco.  
  
Draco punched the vampire and it fell unconscious to the ground. "Draco," Ginny whispered and reached out her hand but drew it back again.  
  
"Come on, we're leaving," Draco said and walked briskly towards the horse.  
  
"Draco, if I mean nothing to you, then why'd you save me?" she asked him, slightly touching her neck where the vampire had bitten her and found red blood on her fingers. Her blood, she corrected herself.  
  
"I couldn't have a vampire hanging with me, could I?" Draco stated carelessly, turning to get on the horse.  
  
Ginny was mentally injured deeply at that statement. He really did loathe her. A tear slid down her face in sorrow at the thought. "Draco, why do you have to be such a bastard?! I miss your friendship!" she shouted at his back and stood up with her back straight in attempt to not show that she was weak from the blood loss..  
  
Draco walked over to her quickly and much to Ginny's surprise, his hands slithered around her waist and he pulled her close to him. He lowered his head to kiss her. They brushed their lips together before Draco deepened the kiss.  
  
Ginny's hands automatically circled his neck as she responded with equal lust and desire. He had obviously done a lot of kissing. He was like a professional kisser. His technique was incredible and he played with her lips and her tongue easily and confidently.  
  
She was thwarted when he pulled away from her. Ginny felt his cold breath against her ear as he whispered: "You can't miss what you never had," in her ear.  
  
Ginny's heart shattered into a thousand pieces with those words. Words could kill and that was what Draco had just done, emotionally. She felt as if she had been betrayed. After all, he was a Malfoy. Malfoys never care for anything but themselves and their money. The pride, the selfishness was far beyond belief. But then again, why did he save her in countless times?  
  
They rode in comfortable silence through the forest and out to the open land where they received a gush of fresh air. It was still dark and Ginny was hoping with all her heart that the horrible vampire would still be unconscious when the sun came up, so it would burn to ashes.  
  
Ginny's teeth hurt vastly. Her canines were growing, she could feel it. Her skin was getting very cold. It was colder than expected, colder than snow and colder than ice. She brought her fingers up to her canines which had grown to sharp fangs. As soon as she touched them, they cut her finger and it bled. She was tempted to suck the blood but knew she shouldn't.  
  
"Draco, I'm cold," she told Draco in a trembling voice.  
  
"You're WHAT?!" Draco exclaimed.  
  
"Did I stutter? I said I'm cold!" she repeated harshly.  
  
"Well, stop complaining and help me think of a way to get back to our time!" he ordered. He was so heartless. What happened to him? Did his heart freeze over night?, Ginny thought for the umpteenth time.  
  
But a way to get back was impossible for Ginny to think of. "Any ideas?" Ginny asked hopefully.  
  
"We could contact other witches and wizards and see if they can help us," Draco replied.  
  
"I doubt it. How about making our own?" Ginny suggested.  
  
Draco snorted in reply. "Yeah, I'm sure that we can make an hourglass and probably your fairy godmother shows up and with a wave of her wand, the hourglass turns to a Time Turner," Draco commented sarcastically.  
  
Don't let him get to you, Virginia, Ginny thought bitterly to herself. "Draco, would you stop being a bastard and use your imagination!" she ordered.  
  
"Weasel, stop whining and be useful!" Draco shot back. Ginny had almost had enough. She was so fed up that she was surprised that there wasn't smoke shooting through her ears.  
  
"Draco, you can either shut up or treat me as your equal!" Ginny shouted at him. It surprised her as much as it surprised Draco. Ginny felt foolish afterwards when Draco stopped the horse, spun around to face her and looked her straight in the eye with a hard expression on his pale face.  
  
"Weasley, I will not shut up because it is up to me to get us out of here and I will not treat you as an equal because that would be like inviting a Dragon to tea. We will keep our situation just as it is and we might consider making it even better by you closing your gap and only opening it when you have something sensible to say," Draco told her harshly and turned around again.  
  
"I could say the same about you," Ginny told Draco, who chose to ignore it. This was going to be a long trip.  
  
*****  
  
Draco was annoyed with the Weasley. He didn't know why he even saved her. He should've just left her to become a vampire and die in the sun. He shouldn't have agreed to save her. What was he thinking? Only two days before he thought he was in love with her.  
  
Pfft, love. Love is a weakness that no Malfoy should possess, he thought to himself.  
  
They rode silently until they spotted quite a big English village. Draco turned to go over to it but was stopped by Ginny.  
  
"No, Draco that's Plymouth. It's the village I was thrown out of before," she told him desperately.  
  
Draco groaned in annoyance. "I'll just go over there and ask if there's a village near by," Draco suggested.  
  
"In those clothes? Draco, I might be wrong but they will throw you in that prison again if you march in wearing Indian clothes. And you've gotta hide that clan mark or they'll throw you in. And no, if you can get clothes and can hide the clan mark, we can't stay there because I'm already known in there-" Ginny couldn't finish because a moment later a dark-haired boy came running up the hill to greet them.  
  
Draco felt Ginny quiver behind him as the boy came near. His skin was quite dark and he was but a little older than Draco but the same height. His hair was a very dark brown and his eyes were brandy like Ginny's. "Hello. I am Alexander and I-" he trailed off as he saw Ginny. "Ginny, what are you doing here? I thought you were in that prison-"  
  
"You know each other?" Draco asked, looking at 'Alexander' with narrowed eyes.  
  
"You could say that," Alexander replied. "Ginny, I want to apologise. We overreacted. If you need a house to stay in you're welcome at our house," he offered.  
  
"No we're-" Ginny started but Draco cut her off.  
  
"OK then, we'll stay," he said. He felt Ginny punch him on the shoulder because of what he did, but Draco only followed Alexander.  
  
"Draco," she said in a tone that you'd use on babies when you're disappointed in them.  
  
"Virginia," Draco said in the same tone, but mocking her.  
  
"Wow. That's the first time you've called me by my first name in ages. Why the sudden change of mind?" Ginny asked him, grinning on his shoulder.  
  
"It's called mocking, Weasel," Draco explained bitterly.  
  
"Okie dokie, Ferret," Ginny said, in Draco's opinion, childishly.  
  
"Okie dokie?" Draco mimicked in a confused voice.  
  
"Yeah. Okie dokie. It means OK," Ginny clarified for him.  
  
"I know what it means-"  
  
"We're here," Draco heard Alexander say when they reached a big house. Well, it was small in Draco's opinion but compared to the other houses, this house was enormous.  
  
He got off the horse and offered Ginny his hand, but once again, she refused and got off herself. They followed Alexander into the house where Jennifer and Orlando were sitting on a sofa, cuddled up by the fire.  
  
*****  
  
A/N: OK, I couldn't get any more ideas for this chapter so this is the boring, but necessary thing that I've been working on *sigh*. OK plz review! 


	14. Someone Else's Hands

It didn't take Ginny a long time to realise that they were, indeed making out on the poor conditioned sofa/bench, and when Alexander cleared his throat, they split apart in less than a second and turned a deep shade of pink which clashed vastly with their hair. When Jennifer and Orlando laid eyes on Ginny, however, their expression changed to that of concern.  
  
"Ginny," Jennifer said uneasily and rushed to her side. She took her hands in her own. "We are so sorry for what we did. We got scared. You see, we have an unpleasant history with some Indian tribe that we bumped into on our way." She then pulled Ginny into a tight embrace, who hugged her back.  
  
"It's OK. In fact, I'm happy that you did." The family looked confused at her unexpected words. "Meet Draco," she said, attempting to explain.  
  
"So this is the young Dragon you were looking for?" Jennifer asked and smiled towards the blonde, who nodded.  
  
Ginny blushed when Jennifer said 'Dragon'. Alexander grabbed Ginny's arm loosely and whispered in her ear. "Come with me outside, I need to talk to you."  
  
Ginny nodded and followed him outside. "What is it?" she asked.  
  
Alexander led her to the back of the house where no one could see them. "Ginny I just wanted to apologise for my behaviour. It was my entire fault. And also I have a confession to make. I crave for you, Ginny. Ever since we handed you over I felt nothing but regret and desire. I must say I am greatly attracted to you, and sometimes I wonder if I am in love with you" he told her.  
  
Those passionate words left her speechless. Sure, she liked him back, but did she like him enough to go through with this? And she was from the future! There was no way that they could be together.  
  
"I-I," Ginny started but was quieted by Alexander's lips on hers. They kissed for a while, and no matter how hard Ginny tried, she felt nothing. It was a tender and sweet kiss, no surprise there. No tongue, just lips doing the working. He was a good kisser, there was no doubt about that, but she felt no excitement or anything. No feelings for him. So she broke the kiss.  
  
"Alexander, I'm sorry, but this doesn't feel right," she whispered with a tiny bit of regret in her voice. Regret for hurting his feelings.  
  
"Why?" he asked, curious.  
  
"My heart lies in another man's hands right now. I'm really sorry," Ginny explained.  
  
But he didn't react the way she expected. "Alright. Fine. I don't even care. Suit yourself," he said and walked towards the barn. Ginny felt tears well up in her eyes because of the way he responded.  
  
But she didn't know she was being watched. . .  
  
*****  
  
Inside the house was a pale blonde that had been listening to their conversation and smirked. He had never liked Alexander, and Alexander had been giving him cold glares ever since he saw Ginny. Well, maybe to keep the Malfoy tradition of torturing the enemy, he could make a certain red head fall in love with him. This would be too easy. . .  
  
*****  
  
Ginny felt dreadful when she was eating dinner with the Hughes'. She was sitting next to Draco and opposite Alexander, who wouldn't look her way. Ginny didn't look his way either, but it was awfully depressing. She had hurt his feelings and she knew that. She knew what he was going through. He was going through the exact same thing she was.  
  
But she didn't want to think abou- "Ginny, are you listening?" she heard a male voice ask her in almost annoyance.  
  
She looked up from her. . .soup/stue/food thing and looked straight in the eyes of Orlando. "Sorry? I was deep in thoughts," Ginny apologised.  
  
Orlando let out a frustrated sigh and asked her again. "How long are you planning to stay?" he asked her for what she assumed was the trillionth time.  
  
"We don't know. We need a plan. You know, how we're gonna survive?" Ginny told him.  
  
"Right," Orlando nodded. Ginny looked over at Draco, who was eating his soup/stue/food thing very slowly. Ginny guessed it was only flour and water, with some extra eggs for flavour. Draco was looking at her from the corner of his eye and winked, so Ginny quickly looked away and blushed. She could just picture Draco's smirk coming on his fair face.  
  
What was up with him? Couldn't he stop bitching around? Couldn't he stop being so confusing? Ginny wasn't sure why she had used that excuse for not wanting to be with Alexander. . .maybe because it was true?  
  
Ginny shook that thought away from her head but it came again as quickly as it left her. . .  
  
*****  
  
Draco was very amused by Ginny. Especially her words to Alexander entertained him. "My heart lies in another man's hands right now," she had said. He would have to make plans to make her fall in love with him and really piss Alexander off. He smirked as an idea came in his mind.  
  
He would act the after dinner, and it would be amusing. . .for him.  
  
After dinner, Orlando offered him some clothes to wear, and Draco put on the ones that he liked, and did it in his own style. He used his wand to change the breeches slightly so they wouldn't stop at the knees and they would seem almost like regular trousers, except they were very dirty. And in order to start his little game, that was the only thing he wore. He left his muscular and lean chest bare, giving Ginny a good look at his six- pack.  
  
When he entered the main room, where Ginny was talking to Jennifer, he heard gasps from the two women as they looked at his clothing. "None of the clothes fit me. You don't mind do you. . .?" Draco asked them while he sat down. The females shook their head slowly, still gaping at Draco, who's lips were curled up into his trademark smirk.  
  
Draco stretched out on the small and poorly looked after sofa/bench and his muscles tensed as he did, making the women almost drool. He was blessed for inheriting the Malfoy confidence. He closed his eyes and when they didn't speak, he opened them again.  
  
"Don't mind me. Just carry on talking," he said and closed them again. The girls hesitantly started to talk again, while Draco involuntarily fell asleep on the hard sofa/bench.  
  
When Draco woke up he heard no voices. It was dark. He guessed it was night time and he looked at his watch. He was correct. It was 2 o'clock in the morning. He stood up slowly and walked towards the door, and opened it.  
  
It was a cool night, and Draco enjoyed the cold. The chilly breeze tickled his skin lightly and his hair swept to the side. He was still tired from sleep but he knew he couldn't fall asleep again. He had slept for seven hours already, which was about as much as he slept every day.  
  
Draco decided to take a walk and headed towards the trees. Once there, he rested his body against a tree trunk and closed his eyes. After a minute's silence, Draco started to hear giggles and whispers. His eyes snapped open and he found them roaming around the trees for a sign of movement.  
  
The giggling became louder but Draco wasn't scared. He had his hand on his wand already. "Who's there?" he whispered loud enough for the intruder(s) to hear. The giggling started again. There was movement in one of the bushes and he fixed his eyes on the bush suspiciously. Then he heard the voices again, but this time they were talking to him.  
  
"Hello there, young man." It was a high-pitched and silky female voice. Four glowing eyes appeared from the bush. They were glowing brightly and it meant only one thing. . .nymphs.  
  
"You look lonely," another, silky voice said. "Would you like to be entertained?" it said again before the nymphs started giggling again.  
  
Draco took his wand out and tried to think of a curse to keep nymphs away from him, but he couldn't. Something in his mind blocked it. He'd learned about them in his sixth year. Nymphs were women that lived in Forests, springs or Rivers, The Mediterranean, the sea, the mountains, the meadows, the lakes, marshes and swamps, and in valleys. Muggles believed them to be Greek Mythology and to be spirits.  
  
Nymphs lured men with their charm, used them for their pleasure and then they killed them slowly and painfully.  
  
Draco could remember everything about Nymphs except the spell to be used against them. Damn! Draco thought bitterly and watched as the nymphs relieved themselves. They had straight and silky hair, which were a soft brown colour. Their bodies were all white, and they stood there, naked. They had no pubic hair or nipples, just plain white. Their eyes were glowing red and they were staring at him with hunger, their perfect features set into a luring expression.  
  
Draco quickly looked away so they couldn't lure him with their eyes and made an attempt to run, but he couldn't move.  
  
"You are smart for your age young man, and smart compared to other humans," one of the nymphs said. "But not smart enough."  
  
A/N: sorry about the wait. Its been. . .I can't remember but here's the next chapter!!! So how will draco handle them?! REVIEW!!!! 


	15. Paradise

A/N: sorry about the wait I've been busy cos school started a few days ago. Anyway, enjoy!  
  
Ginny and Jennifer talked almost until midnight. Draco was sleeping luxuriously on the couch/bench with his arms behind his head, light breaths escaping his lips slowly in a pattern. Ginny had to admit, he looked awfully sexy, lying there bare chested on his back, showing off a six pack and a lot more. . .  
  
It took Ginny a while to realise that she wasn't paying attention to Jennifer, but was staring at Draco with lust. Jennifer, who was sitting opposite Draco, noticed this and laughed.  
  
"Aw, look who's fallen in love with the Dragon," she said teasingly.  
  
"I have not fallen in love with him! He's just a surprise to me that's all!" Ginny explained to her, snapping out of her staring.  
  
"Yes and I am the Queen of the Sugar Plum Fairies. Look, Ginny. It's evident. You've obviously fallen for the man. You just have to realise it yourself," she said reassuringly. "Does he act like a Dragon?"  
  
"Huh?" Ginny said, surprised at the sudden (kind of) change of subject. "Well, he is stubborn, he has his scales for defence, and he can breathe fire on anyone he wishes," Ginny replied. 'Or rather breathe ice' she added in her mind.  
  
"Well, there you go. Your Dragon. You will probably be his Fire when you two realise that there is something going on. Now, let us go to sleep." And with that, Jennifer stood up and walked out of the room, adding a "Let Draco sleep on the sofa, he will not like us waking him up."  
  
Ginny sighed. She wasn't tired at all. Jennifer really got her thinking. She hadn't really thought about 'love' before this. She had only known that she was attracted to him, but love? Why would she be in love with such an evil bastard? He was a big moron with 'pervert' written all over his face. Or was he. . .?  
  
Ginny hadn't realised that she had walked outside behind the house and was standing under the stars and on the grass. She lay down on the grass and looked at the dark sky. The moon was not full, thank God, and the stars were shining brightly, some brighter than others as if they were trying to tell her something. As she tried to figure it out, just to keep her mind off things, she heard noise next to her.  
  
"How long have you been here?" a familiar voice asked.  
  
"Since about midnight, I think," she answered, looking up at Draco, who was standing above her. He was wet, and Ginny realised that he had probably bathed or something.  
  
"That's three hours," he said, looking at his watch. He lay down beside her and looked at the sky. "What are we looking at?" he asked.  
  
"The stars," she said. "Look, there's Uranus," Ginny said and pointed at a planet that looked awfully close, but still far away.  
  
"No, Weasel, it's right here," Draco said teasingly.  
  
"Not your arse, you ferret! The planet!" she laughed and punched Draco in the shoulder.  
  
Draco chuckled.  
  
*****  
  
Draco was surprised that the nymphs let him go so easily. They had brought him to their beautiful home of woodland, where the streams were clean and the birds sang. They bathed him in the clean lake with scented herbs and when they finished he was spotless. They had told him that they hadn't had any man to play with for years and they were getting hungry. They let him go to find other men and bring them there. There were nymphs watching his every step as he did so.  
  
Ginny looked nice in the moonlight. She was still wearing her clothes that she came in, and they showed off her curves beautifully, and her ripped skirt showed off her thin, but shaped legs more than she would like, but to Draco's pleasure. (A/N: couldn't resist. . .)  
  
She was laughing at his joke and it didn't make a difference. It would have a few days ago but it didn't now, that the family spell had done its job. Draco rolled over on his stomach and stared at the sky. He heard Ginny stop laughing and then sigh. And then to his surprise, gasp.  
  
Draco looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She seemed to be looking at his back with horror across her face. He took a peek at his back and saw what she was looking at. His scars from the whipping from his father were now visible since he had been washed. He had been too dirty before for anyone to notice them. The scars from the Heretics Fork were also visible. His Father had used it in a different way. He had scratched his back from shoulders to waist with it and Draco winced at the memory.  
  
Ginny looked at his face with her eyes wide. "W-what ha-happened?" she asked.  
  
"I'm not sure if you want to know, but I will only tell you one thing. My Father," he said as if that would explain everything. Ginny nodded thoughtfully.  
  
"Do they hurt?" she asked. Draco nodded.  
  
"All the time," he said. "But I'm used to it now." Draco saw a tear escape Ginny's right eye and he sat up. He wiped the tear away with his thumb and lowered his mouth to hers.  
  
The moment their lips met, the kiss got fierce and passionate, and Draco felt Ginny's lust for him against his lips as he faked his. His lips curled slightly as he kissed her fiercely and thought about how easy this round had been. Draco: 1. Ginny: 0!  
  
*****  
  
Ginny had been devastated when her eyes caught Draco's scars and even more shocked when he kissed her. This time he wasn't as soft as he was usually when he kissed her, but he was fierce as if he was trying to break her. She had responded at once, returning his lust with her own. A tear escaped her eye again and it went down er nose and into their mouths.  
  
Draco pulled away. His silver eyes showed no emotion at all. Ginny thought of him as a mystery. First he was nice, then he was an evil bastard, then he was nice again. What was going on in that brain of his? Ginny was desperate to know. Did he like her? Did he hate her? He was so confusing! He was way out of her league!  
  
"How are we gonna get out of here, Draco?" she asked. "Are we stuck here? I mean, can't you remember anything that can help us?"  
  
Ginny was surprised once again when he took her in his arms and hugged her. She let the tears fall freely.  
  
*****  
  
Draco wasn't used to comforting a crying person, but in order to carry on with his little game, he smoothened her hair and whispered words of comfort in her ear.  
  
She didn't seem to want to stop crying, because she was using at least half the water in her body in her long crying session. It seemed that she had been holding the tears in for weeks.  
  
Draco mentally punched himself for feeling a pang of sympathy in his chest, but it disappeared as fast as it had come. He involuntarily kissed her hair when she stopped crying and watched the angelic face of Ginny Weasley as she fell asleep in his arms.  
  
Draco didn't realise that he was smiling down at her until a few minutes. He mentally punched himself again, carried Ginny to the house, and lay her down on her bed. Draco then turned to the other bed on the other side of the room. It was an incredibly small room, so the beds were very close, and the house didn't have enough rooms.  
  
Draco sighed and got under the blankets and fell asleep.  
  
*****  
  
When Ginny woke up the sun was shining through her window at Draco, who was sleeping peacefully on the other bed with the most pure innocent face she had ever seen. When he was awake, he looked plain evil, but when he was sleeping, he looked like an angel. She smiled and got out of bed.  
  
Turning to the nightstand on the side of the bed, she picked up a brush and brushed her hair. 'Yuck!' Ginny said as she felt how dirty her hair was. She decided to find some water and bath. She stank!  
  
So she exited the room and the house and headed for the forest. She found a beautiful place that she never thought would fit in the forest in its condition. It was stunning and crystal clear water was running in ponds and streams. There was even a small waterfall that sounded playful when the water ushered off the edge.  
  
It was paradise. Birds were singing and flowers covered the deserted place. The grass was incredibly green and fruits hung from the trees. Ginny didn't think twice about stripping her clothes off and jumping a pond. The water was right between boiling and freezing. It was just the way she liked it.  
  
She saw that on the grass by the pond was Lavender and Rosemary. She went back to her clothes and got her wand out. She collected some Rosemary and Lavender and transformed them into bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and soap. She would smell all-herbal after this. This seemed to be too good to be true.  
  
And it was. . .  
  
A/N: another cliffie!!! Muahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahaha!!!!! Well, I gotta keep you guys reading don't i? muahahahahahaha!! Ok, it hurts no one to review, so plz REVIEW!!!! The longer reviews, the better *hint hint* ; ) 


	16. A Sweetened Deal

Draco woke up to the sound of Alexander's annoyed voice sharply telling him to wake up.  
  
"I don't wanna go to school Mummy," Draco joked. (A/N: I just HAD to put that! Lol!)  
  
"School?" Alexander echoed questioningly. Obviously these people didn't get education.  
  
Draco sat up and rubbed his eyes. He was about to get his clothes when he remembered that he wasn't in his dorm in Hogwarts, but in a family's house that he didn't know very well. He had dreamt of Hogwarts that night and found that he missed the wrecked old place a great deal, like a snail misses its shell.  
  
"You have been sleeping for too long. It is 9 o'clock already, and yet you would not wake up!" Alexander exclaimed angrily.  
  
"Well, I usually get up at ten or eleven when I stay awake until three in the morning," Draco explained. He was usually a morning person. If he went to sleep at midnight, he would wake up at eight, fully refreshed. But he went to sleep much later the night before and had been sleeping like a baby, and would still be if there wasn't for that brat.  
  
"Well get downstairs and have some breakfast already." Alexander left the room. Draco yawned and followed.  
  
Downstairs was a bowl on the table with what looked like gruel. Draco wrinkled his nose and started eating with a wooden spoon that rested by his bowl. In came Jennifer and smiled at him. "Morning sleepyhead," she said.  
  
"Where's Virginia?" Draco asked.  
  
"I was about to ask you the same thing, actually," Jennifer said.  
  
Draco dropped his spoon into the bowl. "She's gone?"  
  
"I have not seen her all morning," Jennifer said candidly, but the panic was showing clearly in her eyes.  
  
Draco stood up and headed for the door. "Where are you going?" Jennifer asked.  
  
"I'm gonna look for her in the garden," he replied.  
  
Ginny wasn't in the garden. Draco looked at the trees. There was a nymph looking at him with a smirk in there. He walked over to it.  
  
"Where's Virginia?" he asked.  
  
"Who on earth is Virginia?" the nymph asked.  
  
"Have you seen a girl with fiery red hair and freckles?" he asked.  
  
The nymph pointed a finger at him. "Ah, yes. She was in our Glory and we took her as a prisoner. We shall probably make her one of us," said the nymph. Glory was what they called their place where they lived. Trespassers weren't very welcome in their Glory.  
  
"You're going to make a vampire a nymph? That's an odd combination, don't you think?" Draco asked.  
  
The nymph was shocked beyond words. Nymphs hated vampires, and feared them more than death himself. "But why has she not turned to dust yet, seeing as the sun is up?"  
  
"She's half. All strengths but no weaknesses. She has half her own blood in her veins," Draco explained in a cold, evil voice. "Take me to her," he said.  
  
The nymph smiled knowingly. "No. She has not tried anything yet and we will keep her to make sure you do your task. Cheerio." And with that, the nymph disappeared.  
  
*****  
  
"Let me go!" Ginny ordered as the nymphs proceeded to tie her up in ropes of their own making. They were very strong, and vampire or no, she could not break them. She struggled and kicked all she could but the ropes were far out of her league.  
  
There weren't very many nymphs, just about twenty, and Ginny would have expected more, but there wasn't. There were nymphs with brown hair, golden hair, light blonde hair, soft brown hair, and a few with red hair. Ginny feared them.  
  
"My dear girl, you must stay still, or it will be far more painful than we intend," said one of the nymphs who was tying her left arm.  
  
They had provided clothes for her and she was wearing a dark green dress made out of silk that reached her knees and had slits up to her waist. The straps of her dress were broad and huddled together, making big and dark wrinkles. They circled her neck and the bottom went down to her chest and created more deep wrinkles. The back of the dress left her back bare but covered her rear end comfortably.  
  
The dress was beautiful, she had to admit, but she couldn't admire it in this situation. There was a nymph with pure white hair about twenty feet away from her with a knife in hand and was playing with it like a baby would do with its doll.  
  
Ginny breathed heavily as the nymphs finished tying her to the tree and she looked at the sharp knife in fear. "What will you do to me? What do you want from me?!" she asked.  
  
The nymph with the knife stepped closer and the other ones made way. "We are running low of our kind, and we need more. Not many people pass through these woods due to people never returning. We need only one more in our group for a complete pack. The reason is because we are originally sea nymphs. Our Father, Nereus the Sea God, commanded us to go to land and find another to live amongst us, giving us the body and habitat of wood nymphs, and we were not allowed to return to our beloved sea before we find someone. We have been here for many years and have found none suitable for a nymph, until now," the nymph said.  
  
It stepped closer. "You want to turn me into a nymph? Don't you think it's a bit too. . .much for a 16 year old?" Ginny asked desperately.  
  
The nymph laughed. "I am Megana, the leader of my group, and I am transforming you," the nymph said, not bothering to answer her unnecessary question.  
  
Ginny swallowed. She certainly didn't like this. Suddenly, a nymph came running towards Megana and whispered something in her leader's ear. Megana's pink eyes widened. She looked over at the trembling Ginny and smirked.  
  
"You are a vampire I hear," she said. Ginny nodded. "Half. I cannot transform you, consider yourself lucky. But we do have use for you. A silver haired man came here last night and we commanded him to find other men for us to feed on. Only then he would be free."  
  
"Draco-" Ginny breathed.  
  
"Oh, you know that man? Well, since you admit it, we will keep you here until he does his job, and then we will set you free," Megana said.  
  
"At least don't keep me tied to this tree," Ginny pleaded.  
  
"I am sorry that cannot be arranged, vampire," she said and walked away.  
  
*****  
  
Draco was furious with the nymphs. If he was going to get back to his time he'd have to get all the men and turn them in. But it would be hard to convince them to go into that forest because of the rumours that it was haunted, so he thought against it. He had to remember the spell against nymphs.  
  
He spent the next few days in his room trying to remember the spell. Writing down some suggestions and trying them on rocks etc. etc. He only remembered the DADA teacher saying that if you try a spell on a rock and it turned blue, then melted, it would work on a nymph.  
  
He tried so many spells that he lost count. Forty? Fifty? He didn't know. He sat once again in his room and thought about it.  
  
He tried the Avada Kedavra, Cruciatus, EVERYTHING!!! But the rocks stayed the same, if it didn't explode or vibrate. He had nearly given up when there was a knock on the door.  
  
"Come in," Draco said. The door opened and Jennifer stepped in.  
  
"Come and eat, you have not eaten all day. It is dawn already," she beseeched. Draco shook his head. He wasn't feeling hungry at all. Jennifer sat down beside him and cupped his face with her hands, forcing him to look at her.  
  
"She will be alright, I swear it. Alexander and Orlando are out looking for her," she assured him and removed her hands very slowly. Draco's head didn't move. "You really do love her don't you?"  
  
This startled Draco. "I don't-"  
  
"Ssh. I see the way you've been acting and the way you looked at her when you two entered the house. I can see it in your eyes." Draco looked away and found a new interest in his hands. He didn't know that Ginny had had the very same talk with the very same woman just a few days before.  
  
"What does love feel like?" he asked. The question surprised him more than it surprised Jennifer, who smiled.  
  
"You feel like you have wings on your ankles, you are happy when the person you love enters the room. Your heart aches whenever your love exits the room. You feel responsible for them and want to do whatever you can to keep them safe-" she paused when she realised that she had been blabbing on like a five year old would about a Barbie.  
  
Jennifer left him to think about what she had just said and she smiled. "Teenagers. They never know when the love bug bites them."  
  
A/N: OK that chapter's over and done with. Have I been long? I'm sorry I keep thinking it's been a short time when it's been a week! I'm really sorry! I've been tired! : (  
  
Ok please review cos I luv them!!! *hint hint* ; ) ok toodles! : DeHe 


	17. Two Solutions

Draco thought about Jennifer's words for a while. That bloody woman had no idea what she was talking about! He thought to himself. That stupid, stupid question only boosted her suspicions. Draco pinched his arm, hoping that everything would vanish, that the whole America thing was just a dream, but everything stayed the same, much to his disappointment.  
  
Draco once more thought up a spell in his head, and oddly enough, it seemed a bit familiar, even if he made it up himself. "Necare Mulier!" he shouted and the stone turned blue and melted. "Yes! Man I'm good!" Draco shouted at the top of his lungs and started dancing a silly dance of delight around the room.  
  
"Finally! Whoo!" he shouted and ran over to the door, wand in hand and spell in his head. He rushed out of the building and towards the door, and he saw a quick glimpse of a nymph a few yards away in the trees, but he ignored her.  
  
He ran to the trees and heard hurrying footsteps behind him. He looked back and saw it was the nymph, that had obviously figured out that he was on his way to the Glory. He stopped in his tracks and turned around. The nymph stopped and looked at him with an evil sparkle in her eyes. She smiled at him and asked him where he was going so hurriedly.  
  
"I think you know," Draco said and took out his wand secretly from the pocket of his trousers.  
  
"Ah, to the Glory, eh? Trying to save your little friend?" she asked.  
  
"Well, yes actually," Draco admitted, his own trademark smirk twitching at the corners of his mouth.  
  
"Are you expecting to kill a lot of nymphs?" she enquired suspiciously.  
  
"Yes I am, and I am starting with you if you don't mind," Draco pronounced and revealed his wand. He pointed it at the nymph whose grin faded quickly and her eyes widened. "Necare Mulier!" he shouted and a blue thread-like spark shot from his wand and hit the nymph in the chest.  
  
The nymph's eyes closed and she started to glow a brilliant blue light that nearly blinded Draco. The nymph rose into the sky and floated in thin air just above the trees. She vanished with beautiful singing in an ancient language and a tiny blue, sparkly orb fell to the ground just in front of him. Draco didn't remember learning anything in DADA about blue orbs appearing when they died. Weird.  
  
Draco bent down, picked up the glowing orb, and planted it in his pocket. He felt a slightly burning sensation in his skin and the orb glowed through the material. The burning feeling wasn't that bad so all he did about it was rip some material off his trousers and stuffed it between the orb and his skin.  
  
Draco kept on running to the Glory and when he reached it, he noticed that there were nymphs guarding it all around it, so he hid behind a tree and tried to think of a plan.  
  
****  
  
Ginny struggled with all her vampire might to break the rope but nothing would work. She twisted and twirled her ankles and wrists to get out of the tight knot but they would only tighten.  
  
"Don't struggle, it'll only make it worse," said one on the nymphs mockingly as they walked past. Ginny hissed at her and showed off her sharp fangs that the nymphs feared so much. She scurried away with a quick shriek of alarm.  
  
Ginny sighed. What would happen next? This little adventure was too much for a young witch/vampire. She couldn't tolerate it. First the Indian tribe and the engagement, then the running away, then first visit to Plymouth, then the Pit of Despair in the Mahanett tribe, then back to Plymouth, and now the nymphs. Whatever next?  
  
Ginny closed her eyes in order to fight a tear away that protested and wrestled to get out. She gave up and opened her soft chocolate eyes. She looked up and saw that a blonde nymph was walking towards her in a catwalk style and it stopped to her right. Ginny glared at it.  
  
"A bit lonely?" she asked with an evil and a smug tone in er voice.  
  
Ginny once again showed her fangs off with a hiss, but this nymph was a brave one, and didn't even flinch. "Stubborn are we? Well we'll see how you feel after this!" she said and raised her hand that had been behind her back. In her fist was a silver knife that shone in the sinking sun. Ginny bit her lower lip and closed her eyes.  
  
She felt pain in her upper right arm, just below her shoulder as the knife slowly dug into her skin and slowly worked its way down to her elbow, where it stopped. Ginny screamed a high-pitched scream as she felt the pain. Then she opened her eyes and saw a straight crimson line of delicious- looking blood on her arm.  
  
"Bon appetite," the nymph said and walked away, chuckling. Ginny kept her eyes plastered to the thick layer of blood on her arm, and gave into temptation. Being a vampire, she loved blood, and being a half-vampire, she didn't need it as much, but enjoyed it like chocolate. She wasn't in danger that she'd become a full-vampire, for she was drinking her own blood, but if the same vampire as the one that bit her first would finish her off, she would be in deep trouble.  
  
"Stop sucking your blood and let me untie your ropes quickly," a voice said to her left. Ginny opened her eyes and was ready to attack the disturber but when she looked at the 'disturber', Ginny realised that this particular nymph was helping her. She was loosening her ankles and then quickly went to her wrists.  
  
The sun was down and all the nymphs were sleeping except this one. She was on guard that night, Ginny supposed, as there was always one on the watch when everyone was sleeping. "What. . .the. . .hell?" Ginny asked suspiciously and the nymph smiled up at her.  
  
"I am Deborah, and I was human once. Many centuries ago I was captured, much like you have, by the nymphs. I was sixteen years old, just reached womanhood, and they took me as I swam in the beautiful lake. They made me a nymph and I know how you are suffering, and that is all you need to know for now," she said,  
  
"OK. . .I'm-" Ginny started.  
  
"Virginia. I know. The nymphs have watched you with the man that came here before you. Draco, I believe?"  
  
"Yeah. Why are you helping me?" Ginny asked Deborah as her wrists were loose.  
  
"Because I do not want you to go through the same thing as I did," Deborah explained and stood up straight again. "I only loosened the knots so you can remove your hands from it, but you must look as if you are tied up until someone comes up with a plan to get you out of here, whether it is you, I, or Draco. Understand?" Ginny nodded, and Deborah sat down under the tree that Ginny was tied to, and started treating her own wounds from the rope.  
  
Ginny could smell the blood in Deborah's wounds, but she fought the temptation to bite her.  
  
"Er, Deborah?" Ginny started.  
  
"Uh-huh?"  
  
"Could you move over there for a second?" she asked, or more like begged. "Your blood smells so nice," she sighed out of her lips that were hungry for blood. Now that she had tasted blood, she could not get enough of it. It was simply paradise.  
  
"Oh yes, I am terribly sorry. I forgot that you were a vampire." Deborah moved to the next tree. "Is that better?" she asked. "Can you still smell it?"  
  
"A vampire can smell blood from miles away, but it's better. Just watch your back, OK?" Ginny pleaded, not wanting to hurt even a fly.  
  
"Alright," Deborah chuckled.  
  
Ginny thought once more of Draco and what he could be doing on that very moment as she had for the most of the days with the nymphs. Was he thinking of a plan or was he just plain careless about all that concerned her? Ginny didn't know. She never would. She didn't understand him and she knew why everyone who wasn't in Slytherin detested him so much. She had never had a good look before America and now she knew that everyone hated him because he was confusing and incomprehensible.  
  
Ginny found herself feeling pity for the guy. Sure, he had many friends like Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson, Marcus Flint had become a very close friend of his the past few years, although he had graduated, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and a lot more that Ginny didn't know the names of. But she had heard of dishonest words that these 'friends' had spoken, the betrayals they had purposely done, the deviousness and the wickedness. It was simply inconceivable.  
  
Ginny sighed. Little did she know that outside the Glory was a certain silver haired boy was making out a plan to get into the magnificent Glory of the nymphs to save a certain fiery haired girl. . .  
  
A/N: OK that chapter finally up!! Please review!!! I luv them!!! I luuuuuuuv long reviews! ; )  
  
So what's gonna happen next? Eh? Stay tuned and find out!! : P 


	18. Attempted Escape

A/N: I'm really really sorry for being. . .three weeks? Damn it's been long. Anyway I've been swamped with homework and tests. Forgive me? *puppy dog eyes*. GOOD GOOD!! OK on with the story then!  
  
It was night time, and still Draco couldn't think of a plan. He had figured out the spell and that was a start, but he couldn't quite put a plan together. He knew that nymphs had sharp eyes, and they glowed in the dark so it would be easier to spot what they were looking for. Draco was sitting behind a tree, careful not to make a sound, and had been sitting there for hours and hours. He looked at his watch. 2:30 am. He yawned and searched for a plan once again.  
  
First he took what he already knew about nymphs. He recalled the text he had memorised in DADA: In Greek mythology, nymphs are spirits of nature. They are minor female deities and the protectors of springs, mountains, and rivers. Nymphs can also be deadly creatures to men. When a Nymph sees a man, it gets hungry. The Nymph then captures the man, uses him for its own pleasure and then executes the man. Nymphs are represented as young, pretty girls. Each subtype presides over a certain aspect of nature.  
  
Nymphs were not myth but they were not often seen. The only people that saw them eventually got killed by them, except for a few lucky ones. Nymphs wasn't a huge course in DADA, it was just two lessons. One to learn the spell and one to learn the facts. Draco hadn't paid very much attention in that particular topic and he immediately regretted it.  
  
Draco took a peak at the Glory. It was being guarded by several nymphs with helmets that looked like ancient Greek helmets with feathers hanging on the back. They each had a spear and stood there completely still, not even blinking. Draco pondered about a plan once again, as he had been for the last few hours. He had only got one plan in his head but it was too risky. After another half hour of pondering he decided to use that plan.  
  
Since he had the Malfoy charm, he decided to use it. Draco crawled as silently as he could without being seen, very close to a brunette nymph and hid in a bush.  
  
"Psst. Hey," he whispered so only the nymph could hear. The nymph turned to face him and when it couldn't see Draco clearly, it moved towards the bush. Draco grabbed the nymph, remembering a fact about nymphs that his father had told him, and kissed it fiercely on the lips. Kissing a nymph was a big risk of being controlled by the nymph, but if you kissed it harshly and good enough, it would reverse, and you could control the nymph yourself.  
  
Much to Draco's relief, the nymph sank into the kiss and was now under his control. He broke away from the nymph and looked at it in the eyes. "Get me into the Glory," he told the nymph and it nodded. It stood up and led Draco to an entrance at the back that wasn't guarded at all. Draco wondered why.  
  
Draco told the nymph to stay at the entrance and not to tell anyone about what he was up to, and the nymph obeyed. He crawled up to the tree that Ginny was tied to.  
  
"Psst, Ginny," he whispered.  
  
"What?" Ginny said and looked around in confusion and fright.  
  
"It's me: Draco," Draco whispered softly. He imagined Ginny's beautiful eyes light up as she was met with rescue. Draco didn't know why, but he liked the idea of being a hero. He had already saved her countless times and he enjoyed it. As mean as it sounded, he looked forwards to bad things happening to Ginny, and if he enjoyed it a tiny bit more, he would have gone as far as handing her over to trouble so he could save her. But he wasn't that stupid.  
  
Draco mentally slapped himself and blocked out the soft side of his spastic self. He was a Malfoy and kept his pride no matter what it took. Even breaking delicate hearts.  
  
"Draco?" Ginny's voice sounded surprised and calculating, as if she was seeing, or hearing, an illusion.  
  
"Yes that's what I said isn't it? Now let's get out of here," Draco put his hand on the rope that was tying Ginny and found it already loosened. "Why aren't you tied up?" he asked Ginny and revealed his face.  
  
Ginny nodded her head towards a nymph who was sitting about five trees away, sucking a bleeding thumb. "She's helping me," Ginny explained. Draco nodded and crawled over to the nymph, behind the trees, and crept up behind it.  
  
"Hello?" he whispered loudly in its ear. The nymph jumped and turned around sharply, and they almost banged noses. The nymph looked terrified. It was scared out of its mind. It showed by its rapid breathing.  
  
"Stay back!" it said and backed away.  
  
"I'm here to help," Draco whispered. The nymph looked at Ginny with a worried expression on its beautiful and pale face and Ginny nodded as a signal of truth, and the nymph accepted Draco there and then.  
  
"What is your plan then-." The nymph's expression told Draco that it wanted his name, so he spoke.  
  
"Draco. Draco Malfoy," he said and offered his hand.  
  
"The nymph took it and said, "I am Deborah. I was human once, and that is why I want to help Virginia."  
  
"Pleasure," Draco said and kissed her knuckles lightly and tenderly. Deborah giggled playfully.  
  
"You are a very decent man Draco. It certainly has been a long time since I've been treated like a noble la-" Deborah couldn't finish her sentence because she was cut off by Ginny clearing her throat.  
  
"Ahem. . .correct me if I'm wrong but aren't we meant to be hurrying?" Ginny asked harshly but quietly.  
  
"Oh right. . .I certainly am sorry. . .I lost myself in. . .this you man's charms," Deborah apologized and batted her eyelashes at Draco, who smirked and looked at Ginny. She was glaring at them and was red in the face. Jealous, eh? It looked like Draco got another score. Draco: 2. Ginny: 0.  
  
Or did she get a point? She had made him jump up and come to the rescue. Did that count as a point? OK, she got a point. The score was now Draco: 2. Ginny: 1.  
  
Draco laughed at the irony. Ginny scored a point and she didn't even know she was playing in his little game of seduction.  
  
"So what is your plan Draco?" Deborah asked and waved a hand gracefully. Draco looked back at Deborah and smirked wider.  
  
"I kissed a nymph and got it to be my slave," Draco said and almost puffed his chest in pride.  
  
"Very impressive. . ." Deborah looked pleased with him and was practically drooling over him at the same time. When she realized that she was staring, she blushed and looked away. "How long ago was this?" she asked.  
  
"I left it there by the bush about fifteen minutes-" Draco was cut off when he looked at the bush and his nymph 'slave' was gone. "and it's gone," he informed slowly as he drew his eyes away from the bush and to Ginny. She was biting her lip and he could spot fright in her eyes.  
  
Deborah grabbed Draco by the wrist and stood up, pulling him up with her. She started running to a hiding place but it was too late: The guards had taken notice of Draco and had started running towards them. Deborah disappeared into a bush and the guards didn't seem to see her. Draco and Ginny ran towards each other, knowing they had nowhere to go.  
  
They were now surrounded by the guards, who were pointing their sharp spears at them with grim expressions on their pretty faces.  
  
Megana appeared behind the circle of angry nymphs and glided slowly through the circle. "My, my what have we got here. . ." she purred. "Do you know what the punishment is for attempted escape?" she asked them. Ginny shook her head slowly and Draco could see from the corner of his eye how scared she was. "Death."  
  
A/N: Again, I'm REALLY sorry for being so late and for not keeping my promise of not being so late again. I'm not good at keeping promises like that : (  
  
Anyway I hope you liked the chapter cos I didn't particularly. So make me a happy bunny and send LONG reviews! : )  
  
Toodles! : D 


	19. Open souls, closed hearts

Thump!  
  
He was getting on her last nerve.  
  
Thump!  
  
It was no use. They were locked in.  
  
Thump!  
  
"Draco it's no use! We're locked in!" Ginny repeated her thoughts loudly. The nymphs had taken them to an underground room in which they had dug, and locked them in with a heavy wooden trapdoor which had a few air holes that would fit about two fingers, to let air in. Apart from the air holes, there was almost no oxygen down there. It was as stuffy as hell and the candle in the middles of the muddy floor did not help at all.  
  
Thump!  
  
"Draco stop it you're annoying the hell out of me!" Ginny let out after an hour of trying to control her temper which had reached boiling point.  
  
Draco had been running towards the place where the trapdoor was then jumping and turning in the air so his back would hit the heavy trapdoor, for the last hour. He looked sweaty and his back was a light purple colour with hints of bruising, and blood trickled down his pale back.  
  
Draco finally relaxed. He sat down and leant against the wall, resting his head on the muddy wall of the underground prison and let out a frustrated groan.  
  
"We need to get out of here," Draco said, breaking an awkward silence.  
  
"No kidding," Ginny mocked. "Look, we've discussed this: we can't call for help because we'll just annoy the nymphs and nobody will hear us. We can't put this place on fire with the candle because the nymphs won't care and they'll leave us to burn to death, and we can't open or break the trapdoor because it's too heavy. Face it Draco! Unless Superman comes to the rescue, we're stuck!"  
  
"Superman?" Draco questioned. Of course Draco did not know about Superman. It was a muggle series, film and comic.  
  
Ginny giggled slightly. "Never mind. Anyway, we're stuck in here."  
  
"You're just giving up?" Draco asked in disbelief and a tad of anger was in his voice. "They're coming for us who knows when to execute us! We can't just sit back and relax!" Draco protested, his disbelief becoming very apparent.  
  
"There's nothing we can do! We may think of a plan but that will have to be later because I'm exhausted!" Ginny argued back.  
  
"Fine! We'll think later!"  
  
There were a few minutes of uncomfortable silence. Ginny felt uneasy. It was not exactly relaxing to sit in a small dark room of damp soil with an angry man sitting only a few metres away from you.  
  
"So. . .what's your family like?" Ginny asked, breaking the silence. Draco seemed startles by the sudden question for he was looking at her as if studying her face to see if she was being sincere or not.  
  
"Why do you ask?" he asked suspiciously.  
  
"I'm just making conversation. I know it's a personal question and everything and I understand if you prefer not to an-"  
  
"Cruel," he said, cutting in. "My Father was cruel and my Mother is a busy woman."  
  
Ginny felt her cheeks heat up and she was glad for the darkness for once. "How was your Father so cruel?"  
  
"It was in his nature," Draco said. "He expected my relationship with his to be Draco see Draco do."  
  
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked, becoming interested.  
  
"I meant that he expected me to follow in his footsteps. What I saw him do, I would copy when I'm older, even the child abuse. I always admired my Father until he started abusing me. That's when I realised how wrongly my Father was living his life. But that was months ago. I know better now. I understand him," Draco explained.  
  
Ginny did not understand fully what Draco meant, but let it slip.  
  
"Anyway. . .enough about my so-called life. What's your family like?" he asked Ginny. "Surely better than mine. What can be worse than-"  
  
"My family abuses me in a way. . ." Ginny suddenly stated, and Draco's face looked in deep shock.  
  
"E-excuse me?" Draco stammered.  
  
"They take no notice of me. Ron ignores me which led me to something horrible, which I have always regretted," Ginny explained casually, as if it meant nothing to her.  
  
"And what is that?" Draco asked.  
  
"Drugs. I've been craving for them. It's not easy-"  
  
"I'm sorry but did I hear you correctly? You're on drugs?!" Draco exclaimed.  
  
Ginny nodded. "Uh-huh," she said. "I'm on speed. I've kept it hidden from you and everyone else. I had some in my skirt pocket to last me a few weeks but they're gone now. I had the last one three weeks ago. And I'm damn craving for more!!" Ginny punched the ground hard with her fist in dissatisfaction. She had been craving for them for weeks and she was going mad.  
  
"Well, to tell you the truth you're not alone. I'm not a drug addict but my Father never sent me any money at Hogwarts so, out of desperation, I took to pick-pocketing. I'm quite skilled now," Draco admitted. Ginny was glad she had someone to talk to about her drug problem. But it would not last very long. . .  
  
Ginny was quite pleased with herself. She had got Draco to open up to her and pour his heart out. From what she had heard, that was very rare in Draco's case. Ginny shuffled closer to Draco, so she was only about half a meter away from him. She leaned up to him and kissed him on his soft lips. It was a sympathy kiss, to show him that she cared, and he seemed to accept that, by the way he was responding in a tenderly way.  
  
When Ginny broke away, a thought occurred to her. "Draco, you know that day when you said you'd prove that you're not like your Father?"  
  
"That's off," Draco snapped. "I am no longer ashamed of my identity and persona. I am exactly like my Father and take pride in it."  
  
"W-what? But you're not-" Ginny trailed off when she saw a faint red line around his pupils. He looked at her with an evil glint in his eyes and leaned very far over her, while she backed away. She was lying on her back and Draco was only a few centimetres above her when it happened. . .  
  
A/N: hee hee hee!! An evil cliffie!! YEY!!! The chappie finished! I only made you wait a week this time!! GO ME!!! Plus, there's only a few chapters left! And then (possibly-very likely) a sequel! YEY!! Ok I hope you liked this chapter, I know it was quite boring and no action at all in it, but that will change soon (trust me! It WILL change!) so anyway thanx to all my reviewers who've kept me going!!! Luv y'all!!!  
  
Toodles!:D 


	20. Red Realisation

That feeling again. The urge to kill, to destroy life. It was happening. He was being taken over by an evil power. He could taste it, see it, feel it, smell the fear in the girl. It only encouraged him. Her eyes were wide with shock and fright. He only smirked at her.  
  
He thought of a way to kill her, to take the breath of life from her lungs.  
  
"Er. . .Draco? D'you mind. . .getting off of me?" she asked, trying to be casual.  
  
Draco ignored her plea and put his middle and index finger just below her ear, under the bone of her jaw, where it hurt the most, and pressed in upwards towards her eyes. Virginia made small, choking noises as he pushed up and in, on the both sides of her face, squishing her throat.  
  
"Draco! Th-th-at h-hurts! Stop it! Help!!!" she pleaded, struggling to get free, but Draco had the strength of a vampire, which the curse of Slytherin gave him. Although Virginia was a vampire, she was only half, and therefore she did not have the same strength as Draco. She was stronger than any human, but not as strong as full vampires.  
  
Half vampires could not transform into bats or flit. Only full vampires could do that. Ginny would need blood, but not that much. She could be killed by anything that could kill humans but sunlight and holy objects did not matter. They would do her no harm.  
  
Ginny was struggling to breathe, and the right corner of her mouth started bleeding, along with her eyes. Tears of blood streamed down her face and she cried harder than any baby, harder than any mother in mourning, harder than a waterfall.  
  
And Draco wanted her to stop breathing. He wanted her pupils to dilate. He wanted her to stop struggling and go limp. He wanted her limper than string, he wanted her skin to be whiter than snow, her blood to be black from lack of oxygen. In simple words, he wanted her dead.  
  
She stopped breathing. Her pupils dilated. She stopped struggling and she went limp. She was limper than string, her skin was whiter than snow, her blood was black from lack of oxygen. In simple words, she was dead.  
  
Draco let go and sat up. Smirking, he chuckled to himself. He looked at the dead body and knew. He knew that she had been the only one to save him. The only one to save him from this spell, this curse, this pain. But did he care? No, he did not care at all. Her last words rang in his head, replaying over and over again. 'Draco! That hurts! Stop it! Help!!!'. But it only brought him pleasure.  
  
After a few minutes of silence, Draco heard the trapdoor being opened. He looked up and saw a black haired nymph, about five and a half foot tall, armed with a spear and a dagger tied to its foot, slide down and land on its feet on the ground. It looked at Draco, then at Ginny.  
  
It looked confused for a second, but dismissed the situation. "Since the girl has been taken care of, I will let you choose your death. You can choose the fate we wanted for her or the fate that we chose for you. Your choices are to be either crucified or drowned. Which one do you choose?" it asked.  
  
Draco glared at the nymph and stood up slowly. He walked over to it in slow strides and put his index on its jaw. "I choose neither," he said and placed his hand on her neck. He jerked her head sharply, and far to the right, and he heard a loud crunch. The nymph fell down, limp.  
  
Draco chuckled to himself and thanked Venenifer Malfoy for his powers. These powers would help him become the most feared wizard on earth. Even the all-powerful Lord Voldemort would cower from him.  
  
Draco grabbed at the ground above him and pushed himself up. The gush of fresh oxygen delighted him, and he took a deep breath. He stood up, closed the trapdoor, which was camouflaged with grass on, and looked around him. The sky was orange because of the sinking sun. He knew what Virginia would say if she had lived to see the sky. "Isn't it beautiful? Oh how I'd like to fly in that sky."  
  
Draco looked around. There were early rising nymphs there, staring at him with amazement. Some were whispering to each other. Draco could catch "Where is Diana? He cannot have defeated her. She is our best guard and fighter."  
  
Draco walked straight through the small crowd of nymphs until he reached the head nymph-Megana. "Why hello there Draco. Where are you going?" it asked and cocked an eyebrow.  
  
"Home," Draco replied. Megana clicked her fingers and two nymphs grabbed each of Draco's lower arms. Draco grabbed the nymphs' wrists and spun them around backwards rapidly, and they fell flat on the ground. Megana's eyes widened and a few gasps were heard.  
  
It was dark now. The night was a very dark night, the sky was clear of any clouds, and the stars could be seen shining in their glory in the sky. Draco smirked and took slow steps towards Megana. She backed away until she hit a tree. Draco continued to walk towards her. When he was only a few centimenters away from the nymph, he stopped and listened. He had heard a noise.  
  
It was a hissing noise, almost like that of a snake, but not quite. "What was that?" Draco asked and ran in the direction of the noise, stopping behind a tree. There was movement in the wood. More hissing noises were heard. They got louder and louder. Then Draco saw faint outlines of people. They were coming towards the Glory in an incredible speed, and all you could see of them was a blurry outline.  
  
Vampires. The vampires were attacking the Glory. Angry vampires, ready to strike. Draco narrowed his eyes. He turned around. "Say your goodbye's nymphs. You have vampires to deal with." He ran into the bushes the moment that the angry vampires attacked.  
  
He hid there and watched nymphs scream and get their weapons to fight. He watched vampire and nymph blood be spilt. Light blue nymph blood and red vampire blood. Everywhere. The vampires were going crazy, slicing everything that crossed their paths. Draco heard a rustling noise behind him. He turned around and saw a vampire with a raised dagger above him. Draco dodged the dagger as it came down and the vampire fell flat on its stomach. Draco turned it around and looked straight into its eyes as he took the dagger from its pale hand.  
  
"Murderer! You killed our leader!" it said before Draco stabbed it in the heart with the dagger. So that was the reason of their attack. The vampire that drank from Virginia's veins was their leader and they had killed him. The vampires were after him. Then why were they attacking the Glory? Well, they probably had spies and would soon find Virginia's body in the ground.  
  
Draco's softer side was taking over again. He felt sympathy and wanted to bury Virginia's body. Guilt filled his emotions. He really was a murderer. He killed in the most brutal ways. Why did that curse have to come upon him? Why?  
  
Draco crawled out of the bushes and behind a tree, where no one would see him. He crawled around the Glory until he came near to a rather empty spot with almost no one fighting. He ran across there and looked for the trapdoor. Nothing. It was camouflaged and therefore Draco could not see it.  
  
"Draco!" a voice said behind him. Draco turned around. Deborah was standing behind him with a dagger in her hand. "Come with me! I'll show you the trapdoor!"  
  
"You read my mind," Draco said and followed Deborah through the battle, defending himself and stabbing a few vampires and nymphs on the way. Deborah came to a halt and pulled at a rock. The rock was connected to some rope, which opened the trapdoor.  
  
"Quick! Jump!" Deborah said and Draco obeyed. Virginia's body was still down there, lying limp on the muddy ground. Deborah closed the trapdoor and darkness came over them. Draco got out his wand and whispered a quick 'Lumos'. He studied Virginia's body.  
  
Pale. Limp. Dead. Those were the words to describe her. Dead especially. Draco never thought he would ever do this, but he cried. He cried over the poor girl, who had been murdered by a man who had been there to protect her. But the damned curse just had to come along. It had to be when he was turning eighteen. The time when he was destined to destroy.  
  
Draco cried over her for what seemed like hours. His arms rested on her stomach and his head was buried in his arms. He cried, making a small puddle on the mud and on Virginia's soft skin. He had never known how much he had cared about her. But now that she was gone, he realised something incredible-he could not live without her. Now that she was gone, his life seemed to have no meaning at all.  
  
He had never felt like this before. No one had told him anything about such an emotion. What could it be?  
  
Draco picked the body of Virginia Annabella Weasley up and opened the trapdoor. He got out with the help of Deborah and ran for his life and feelings.  
Oops. Hehe. . .a month? I'M SO SORRY!! It was my birthday, then I had lots of homework, then I had the SAT mocks and I've been so busy!! Plus, my dog kept eating my homework. . .*smiles innocently*. Ok, call me lazy I don't mind, I know I am. Review, it'll make me really enthusiastic to write more ok?!?!?! Make them as long as you can!! And send cookies! (chocolate chip if that's ok)!!  
  
Ok toodles! :D  
  
p.s I'M SORRY!!  
  
p.p.s I'M SORRY!!  
  
p.p.p.s I'M SORRY!! 


	21. Witch Fire

And he ran. He made no attempt to stop whatsoever for a long time. He just ran, with a limp body in his pale and strong arms. The body belonged to an innocent girl, who had done something unthinkable to him. She had not meant to of course, but with her bubbly personality, she had created an emotion within him, an emotion so strong that he could not stand it. Was that why he had murdered her? He did not know, for he discovered the feeling after he had killed her. But then again, his heart may have discovered it a long time ago. His head had probably blocked the heart, and his evil had taken over, murdering the girl so he would not suffer.  
  
But that was just a guess. Draco did not know what had happened. Not with his heart. The heart that was made of a block of ice, which Virginia Weasley had melted and a heart was discovered. A heart that was not meant to exist. And he had killed her.  
  
For the first time in his whole life he felt real guilt, a burden on his shoulders that only one person could relieve. And that person was the person that caused his guilt. He was stuck. It was a vicious cycle.  
  
Draco did not tire, but he felt that he should stop. He did not know why he wanted to stop, but it felt right. So he stopped and sat by a tree, laying Virginia's head on his lap. He studied her pale, dead, face. Her freckles stood out. Her mouth was closed and her hair was flowing everywhere. Her brown eyes still showed fright and stared right up at him, so he laid a hand on her eyes and closed them. He was still crying, he realised. His face was stained with tears of sorrow. Sometimes he wondered if it was blood from his bleeding heart.  
  
He sat there for a while, just looking down at her. A muggle saying echoed in his head. 'You never know how much you care about it until you lose it.' That was true. He never knew how much he had cared about Virginia until he lost her.  
  
That was when he heard the rustling of leaves in the direction he was running. Men's voices were heard, and they sounded awfully familiar. Draco studied the two faint outlines that were getting bigger and bigger. Two men. One burly, the other not as muscular as the other. When they came closer, Draco could see that they both had dark hair, and they were clothed in the same clothes as the villagers in Plymouth. As they drew even closer, Draco could see them clearly and recognised them instantly.  
  
"Orlando! Alexander!" he called. They had slowed down when they had spotted Draco and Ginny, and were walking towards them.  
  
They looked very worried. "You found her, Draco," Alexander smiled. "Well you must come qui-" Alexander did not finish his sentence, for he had discovered the awful state of Virginia. "W-What happened?" he asked.  
  
Draco waved his hand. "I'll explain later. Why do you need us?" he asked.  
  
"I-is she. . ." he swallowed. "Dead?"  
  
Draco nodded sadly. Alexander's face was pure sorrow, as he fell to his knees and tried to hold back his tears. Orlando laid a hand on his shoulder. "She was a sweet girl. But since one life could not be saved, we must save the other."  
  
Draco looked up at Orlando, confusion clear in his eyes. "Other? What do you mean?"  
  
"Jennifer has been accused of witchcraft. The villagers are gathering to go and get her. She cannot escape, for there are guards securing that she stays in the house. One at every door and every window. We must go and save her. We cannot do it alone, Draco, we need your help," Orlando explained with sadness written across his features.  
  
'Oops,' Draco thought and bit his lip. 'I should have been more discreet with my magic.'  
  
"OK," he said and stood up. He took a last glance at Virginia before hiding her in a bush nearby, to come and collect her later on, when they had rescued Jennifer.  
  
The three men ran as fast they could to the village, and when they arrived, they found that it was too late.  
  
The people had surrounded the house, holding big stakes of fire and trying to break into the house. Only the burly guards were stopping them. A tall and slender priest stood in front of the door, dressed in long black robes, a bible in his left hand and a cross in his right. There were two men at either side of him, one holding a rope and the other a dagger. They, too, were wearing long black robes, but they were younger than the priest and Draco guessed that they were students.  
  
Alexander, Orlando and Draco tip-toed around the house, looking for weak spots where they could get in. There was a guard trying to keep an angry old man from setting the house on fire. Maybe they could get in while the guard was distracted somehow. Draco whispered his idea to Orlando and Alexander, who nodded in approval. Alexander and Orlando pushed their hoods above their heads, but Draco did not have one, so he would have to count on luck.  
  
The trio sneaked through the angry mob and past the guard. . .luckily. The old man had just stopped struggling when they sneaked through the window. Draco, Alexander and Orlando searched the house for Jennifer. Not in the kitchen, not in the bathroom, not in the living room. . .  
  
"I found her!" Alexander called from the bedroom. Orlando and Draco hurried to the master bedroom, where Jennifer was sitting on the bed, crying out of fright. Alexander was hugging her closely, shortly joined by Orlando.  
  
"Th-they are here. They are going to take me away. Y-you must hurry. Get out before they take you too," Jennifer whispered.  
  
"No!" Orlando exclaimed. "We will not leave you here to die! We will run away. We are here to save you Jennifer."  
  
Jennifer's frightened face paled. "No you cannot. They will come after you. They will hunt you down and murder you. You know they will. You know what happened with young Deborah. The story of her escape. I know you believe it to be just a folk's tale of the young Indian girl, but I believe it true. I do not want you to end up like her, to die in the cold storms."  
  
Deborah. The nymph. Draco was almost amused when he knew what they thought happened to her. Of course, she did not die. She was turned into a nymph. And another thing new to Draco was that she had been accused of witchcraft. Hmm. . .  
  
"Jennifer listen to me," Orlando said while he cupped her face in his hands. "I will not leave you to die, not even if it means I have to die to save you. I love you Jennifer, so do not complain." With that, Jennifer nodded slowly and stood up with Alexander's help.  
  
"So how will we get out?" Draco asked.  
  
"I do not know," Orlando shook his head. "We could try the roof, and then jump down," he suggested.  
  
"I doubt that it's stable enough," Draco objected. "We're going to have to try the windows. Or. . ." Draco smiled as a plan formed in his head.  
  
"What? Or what?" Alexander asked, eager.  
  
Draco stepped closer to them and whispered his master plan. ******  
  
"Fire!" a man called from outside. Alexander, Draco, Orlando and Jennifer were in the bedroom, and had closed the door to stop the fire from getting into the room. Hopefully, it wouldn't.  
  
"When are we jumping?" Alexander asked over the crackling of the deadly fire in the other rooms.  
  
"When I say," Draco replied. He was by the window, waiting for the people to become confused and to start mayhem of screaming and running. After a few minutes, Draco got his wish. "Alright, Orlando, you go first," Draco ordered. Orlando ran towards the window and jumped the two storeys of the house. Once Draco made sure he was safe below, he told Jennifer to jump. She was hesitant but obeyed. Orlando caught her and they started running towards the forest. Next, Alexander jumped and ran. That only left Draco.  
  
But, unfortunately, the door caught on fire at that moment and burnt the wall where the window was. There was no other window in the room. Draco was trapped. Looking around, he tried finding something to put the fire out, but the bed and caught on fire, and the tattered sheets with it.  
  
He started coughing. His lungs were filling with smoke and ash. He was getting weaker. His vision got very blurred. It was either jumping through the thick fire, or staying inside and burning to death. But Draco did not get to make that choice, for he drifted away into unconsciousness before anything could be decided.  
A/N: tee hee! That was an evil cliffie! Muhahahahahahahaha!! So, was this a good chapter? Worth the wait? I'm getting slower aren't i? I'm sorry. . .*sigh*  
  
Anyhoo, please review! And send muffins! Me loves muffins! (especially chocolate and blueberry ones. . .mmmmh)!  
  
Toodles! :D 


	22. Choice of Fate

Waking up was hard. His body would simply not do it. Well, that was Blue Bear's prediction. . .  
  
Cold as Ice lay in front of him, his toes slightly burned, and a little hair had been burned shorter. But Blue Bear had come in time to prevent any larger damages from happening. Blue Bear was rattling a turtle filled with sacred healing beans over Cold as Ice's body. The people would be glad to have this strong warrior back. But where had Red Hurricane gone?  
  
Blue Bear lightened up immediately at the first sign of waking. Cold as Ice groaned and opened his eyes. "Where am I?" he asked, confused.  
  
"You are in the wood, safe from fire and terror and war. Here, have a drink," Blue Bear explained and handed Cold as Ice his brown deer-skin water bottle.  
  
"What the-How do you drink form this thing?" Cold as Ice asked as all the water spilled over his hot chest. The water bottle was like a sack of deer skin with a tube to drink from.  
  
"Pour it in, do not put your lips around the tube, it will get too heavy," he explained to the young man.  
  
Cold as Ice drank for what seemed an age, until he finally put the bottle down and handed it back to Blue Bear. Cold as Ice studied Blue Bear's face as if there was something odd about him.  
  
"I'm sure I've heard that voice, and seen those eyes before," he said.  
  
"Why of course you have," Blue Bear said. He knew that Cold as Ice would not recognise him, for he had changed quite a lot, and had war paint on his tanned skin which hid his face like a lizard's skin camouflages. "I am a dear friend of yours, or at least I used to be, for I do not know what has been going on with you since we last met."  
  
"What's your name?" Cold as Ice asked. His brain seemed to be on strike at the moment.  
  
Blue Bear sighed. "How many people will you see with this unusual shade of blue in their eyes, and with the strength to fight a bear like he would a human?" he hinted.  
  
Cold as Ice looked puzzled for a moment, and then realisation struck him like a lightning, when his brain started functioning again. "Blue Bear!" he exclaimed in happiness and hugged his friend in a manly manner. Cold as Ice laughed and pulled away from the embrace, smiling upon his faithful friend.  
  
"None other," Blue Bear laughed.  
  
"It's been a long time since I've seen you guys," Cold as Ice nattered joyfully.  
  
"Too long, my brother. Too long."  
  
"So why are you here? How did you find me?" he asked.  
  
"We came for revenge. When we found out that the Mahanetts were betraying us for the people of Plymouth, we decided to take revenge in them. Chief New Arrow has been training boys from the age of fourteen and up to fight, which is how angry he is. We lost half of our warriors in that surprise attack," Blue Bear explicated.  
  
"Ah. . ." Cold as Ice stood up and so he could see his temporary home town, and a look of sorrow wrote itself across his fair features.  
  
*****  
  
"Virginia? Virginia Annabelle, can you hear me?"  
  
Ginny heard the faint sound of a woman's voice, echoing in her ears.  
  
"Yes. Yes I can hear you. But who are you?" she questioned.  
  
"I am the protector of the dead sinners and heaven, and the savoir of the living. I am here to give you a choice," the beautiful voice said.  
  
There was a sound of singing in the background, and although Ginny could only see black, she knew that they must be angels, for the choir of voices was too angelic to be human. Soft, soft singing and a soft, soft voice.  
  
"What kind of choice?" Ginny asked. By now the darkness was starting to fade, and a mix of light shades of blue, pink, and purple were coming to view.  
  
"A choice between worlds. You can either go with me to the paradise that is heaven or live again in this cruel world," the beautiful voice of heaven told her gently.  
  
"Wait a minute-I'm dead?!" Ginny questioned with shock.  
  
"Yes Virginia, you are dead. Your friend, Draco, strangled you. But if you choose to live again, do not blame him, for it is a family curse that led him to do it." By now the woman had come into view. She was beyond beautiful. Her long golden hair flowed to the small of her back, and her white dress matched her pale and creamy skin. Her pink lips moved in wonderful motion to her words.  
  
"A curse only you can save him from," she carried on. "That is the reason as to why he has been acting strangely. He is confused. The curse in his blood is telling his head that he cannot love, and must destroy anyone who comes in the way of that. It has not taken fully over his heart, for if it had he would not have recovered from the previous effect of the curse, when he throttled you. His heart is saying that he loves you, Virginia. He loves you. So it is now your choice. Stay or come with me."  
  
Ginny was dumbstruck. Why had she not figured it out before? 'Dumb, dumb Ginny!' she thought to herself harshly.  
  
"I wish to stay," she said. "I will try my best to save him from this curse."  
  
"I must say that it is a humble thing to do. But of course you would do it, since you love him yourself," the woman said.  
  
"I really do love him?"  
  
"Yes of course. Has your heart not told you?"  
  
"Yeah but I didn't think-I thought it was most likely a crush but-anyway, just bring me back," Ginny requested.  
  
"Of course. Good luck, Virginia. If it gives you confidence, I will guide you through this situation." And then everything went black again.  
  
*****  
  
The burning city. People were running away form it if the Indian tribe had not murdered them. Draco had no idea whether or not Orlando, Alexander and Jennifer had survived. Perhaps they had been burned, perhaps they had been murdered, or perhaps they had run away. Draco had taken a strong liking to them, and mourned inside at the thought of them being dead.  
  
But Draco had no time to think about that. He turned to Blue Bear. "I have to go and do something, please don't follow me," he said.  
  
"Alright." He stood up. "Will we see each other again?" he asked.  
  
"No I doubt it," Draco said regretfully and stepped closer to his friend.  
  
"Well goodbye then. I hope you will make good of your life and I hope you will get back to your time," Blue Bear said and hugged Draco.  
  
"Ditto," Draco replied and hugged back.  
  
Then Draco set off to find the limp body that belonged to Ginny Weasley.  
  
When Draco came to the place where he left Ginny, he found himself surprised and shocked!  
  
Ginny was, yes, sitting up, and looking around, wondering where she was. She was alive!  
  
Draco ran over to her. "Virginia?" he said. He could not help smiling like a fool.  
  
"Draco!" Ginny exclaimed in happiness and hugged him tight.  
  
"Oh Ginny! You're alive!" He hugged her back and kissed her hair.  
  
"Well I'm not that easy to get rid of," she giggled.  
  
Draco chuckled. "Well I'm so happy you're alive that I'm not gonna even ask how."  
  
Ginny pulled away from the hug. "Well we've got to find a way to get back, now don't we? And fast. I want to go home!" she pleaded.  
  
"Yea-OW!" Draco exclaimed as something dug into his leg.  
  
"What's wrong?" Ginny asked.  
  
Draco reached into his pocket and found the orb that the dying nymph left him. Ginny gasped when she saw it.  
  
"Th-that's a nymph's soul!" she exclaimed in awe. "It will grant one wish if you get one! Wow Draco!"  
  
*****  
  
But there was not a Draco anymore. Well, there was but there was two of them! One holding the orb, eyes narrowed and an evil smirk on his face, and the other with a soft expression.  
  
The one with the orb spoke. "Want it? Come and get it."  
  
A/N: I'M SO SORRY! I'M ON MY KNEES BEGGING FOR YOUR FORGIVENESS! I'M SO LAZY!  
  
So anyway, I don't really have an excuse other then SAT exams and the fact that I'm lazier than my cuddlies ^_^  
  
REVIEW! 


	23. A Fight for a Soul

"Draco? Draco what's up with you? W-why is there two of you?" Ginny asked, backing away from the evil glower.  
  
Ginny studied the person standing in front of her. He did not look exactly like Draco. There was a red scar on the skin that lies on the bone between his eyes. His nose seemed slightly larger that Draco's. And there were bite marks on his neck. The bite mark of a vampire.  
  
"You are so naïve Virginia. Well, stupid all the same. I'm not Draco." He pointed at the identical boy that was standing a few feet from him. "He is."  
  
"I-I don't understand," Ginny stuttered.  
  
"Had it ever occurred to you that the Malfoy family is cursed?"  
  
"N-no."  
  
"You thought that Draco´s behaviour was was normal? Well I must say that you are even more dim-witted than I thought."  
  
"What do you mean?" Ginny enquired.  
  
"I mean that I am not Draco. I am Venenifer Malfoy, the greatest of the Malfoys ever to be." 'Venenifer' puffed up his chest proudly and lifted his chin. "No need to ask about your name, though. It has not changed, has it. Red hair, freckles. I must say that you are a Weasley." Ginny felt her blood boil. "Now, I must explain because it is part of the situation."  
  
"What situation?" she spat.  
  
"Stop asking questions. I will explain. That curse does not allow me otherwise. You see, when I lived, which is a good many years ago, a vampire bit me, as you may see from the marks." He showed her the marks in which she had noticed before. "My master, Salazar Slytherin himself, put this curse on my family, the male line. On the son's eighteenth birthday, his blood will turn pure evil. It will change gradually, and every now and again will have hiccups of nasty behaviour. Now, if you can get this orb before I kill you, the curse will be broken. If not," Venenifer smiled evilly, his fangs glittering in the moonlight. "You die and young Master Malfoy's curse will take him."  
  
"S-so do I just kill you?" Ginny asked.  
  
"No you do not. You get the orb and I vanish. Kill me and he dies."  
  
"Please will you give me the soul, Venenifer?" Ginny said, stretching her hand for it, and with her left feeling for her wand.  
  
"Stupid question. Of course I won't! I thought it was quite obvious by now. . .unless you were so stupid as a child that you had to be shown a cucumber whenever it was mentioned. Typical for a poor family," he sneered.  
  
"Insult my family again and I'll kill you," Ginny threatened, taking a step towards him.  
  
"I'd like to see you try. Come on then you miserable scum, show me how honourable your family is. If it even has an inch of honour in its name."  
  
Ginny, as all Weasleys, was more than a tad sensitive about her family, and at the top of her Weasley rage, started towards Venenifer.  
  
But, unfortunately, Venenifer stepped aside at the last moment, forcing Ginny to run straight past him.  
  
"Take a chill pill, Weasel. Ever heard of the 'Cage the Rage Technique'?" His question was answered when Ginny attacked him again. "Perhaps not," he said as he stepped aside again.  
  
"Ok that's it," Ginny said, grabbing her wand. She pointed it at him.  
  
"Remember. Kill me and he dies, too. Hurt me and you hurt him."  
  
"Accio Orb!" Ginny exclaimed. The orb did not move.  
  
"Honestly, Weasley. I am a powerful wizard. You did not expect a summoning charm to work? Tut tut," he clicked his tongue.  
  
Ginny lowered her wand. She was starting to panic. Draco just stood and watched. "Draco help me here!" she pleaded.  
  
"I can't. If I try to help you it would be like battling myself. I can't. Sorry Virginia," he apologized, his eyes darkening.  
  
Venenifer chuckled. "Wise move, boy. Now Virginia, time is running out."  
  
"Time? I'm being timed?" Ginny demanded.  
  
Venenifer out his hand to his mouth in mock regret and closed his eyes. "Oh dear! I forgot to tell you! Oh silly, silly me. Bad Venenifer, bad!" He chuckled again. When he opened his eyes he found that Virginia was gone. "Wh-AH!" Ginny had used her opportunity to sneak around him and attack him from behind. Venenifer lay on the ground with Ginny on top. Ginny punched him repeatedly around the face.  
  
Venenifer was bleeding now, and so was Draco. Both their faces were covered in bruises and blood. Ginny gasped when she saw Draco. "Oh sorry Draco!"  
  
"Don't worry Virginia just carry on!" Draco said through his wincing.  
  
Ginny bit her lip and grabbed for the orb. Venenifer's hand moved so she missed. She tried again. She missed. Venenifer seemed to like games. He chuckled at her failed attempts.  
  
"Stop playing games Malfoy! Go ahead and punch me if you like!" Ginny exclaimed without thinking.  
  
"I have been taught not to punch a lady. I will not go against that," he chuckled.  
  
"I'm no lady!" she said and punched him again. He seemed to be making no effort to get her off him. Just as long as the orb is out of the way of her grip. "Now fight back you pansy!"  
  
"Very well then." Ginny soon found out that her words were a fatal mistake. Venenifer kicked her off him, stood up and got his wand out. "Avada Ked-!" he was cut back when Draco flew at him.  
  
"No!" The boys wrestled on the ground, each hit they gave, they took. It was like watching twins fight. Both silvery haired, both pale, both of the same build, everything. Ginny watched them fight in awe until. . .  
  
Venenifer's hand opened, and the orb flew out in the air. For a moment it seemed to fly in slow motion, and Ginny watched the beautiful glowing orb fly until she came to her senses and ran to catch it. In a flash, the orb was in her hand and Venenifer vanished.  
  
Breathing rapidly, Ginny stood in her place with the orb in her hand, looking at Draco. He was now lying on his back on the ground, covered in mud, blood and bruises. He was not moving.  
  
"Draco?" she whispered. No reply. She walked towards him slowly. He was not stirring at all, and did not look as if he was breathing. She knelt beside him and put her ear against his chest. No heartbeat. Draco was dead.  
  
Without warning, Ginny burst into tears. "No Draco! Don't leave me on my own! You can't! No please! Please come back! Wake up, you're only sleeping!"  
  
Flashes of their past together appeared in her mind, one after the other, from the Indians to Plymouth and to present time. Ginny lay on his chest, crying. "Draco please wake up!" she pleaded, and then whispered. "I love you."  
  
When she whispered those words, she remembered the orb. She looked at it. She had a big choice to make. Draco or home. She could either go home and live the rest of her life in mourning for Draco, or she could bring Draco back and live with him in this time. Who knows, maybe they would find another way to get back to their time.  
  
Ginny sat there for a while, and looked down on Draco's face. His angelic expression pleaded for his life back. Its hurt features were begging. Ginny came to a decision. She must bring him back and hope for another way to get home.  
  
"I wish that Draco returns to life," she whispered as she held the orb out in front of her. The orb glowed a brilliant blue and a spirit seemed to rise out of it. A woman. The woman looked like a nymph, except it glowed blue, too. It rose out of the orb brilliantly and gracefully. Its eyes had no pupils, but glowed white. It was the nymph's soul. In an instant, the nymph's soul dived into Draco's body, and Draco glowed, too. When the light faded, Draco stirred.  
  
A rush of emotion filled Ginny. Sadness that she would not return home, relief that Draco was alive and happiness that she was not alone. Draco sat up slowly. She hugged Draco.  
  
"Wh-what happened?" he asked weakly in confusion.  
  
Ginny was crying. She was talking very fast now. "Draco I'm so glad you're back! Y-you died and I had to bring you back with the nymph's soul and you came back but now we can't get home and I don't know what we're going to do but Venenifer vanished which is a good thing so you don't have to worry about-"  
  
Draco put his index to her lips. "Virginia I can't hear a thing your saying."  
  
"I love you."  
  
Draco was quite taken aback at her words. "You what?"  
  
"Love you."  
  
"Is that what you were saying?" She shook her head. Draco smiled. "I heard something about the orb. And someone dying."  
  
"You died and I had to use the orb. We can't get back now." Ginny looked down.  
  
Draco sighed. "We will. One day we will, Ginny. I promise you. I love you, too." At that he leaned down and kissed her. And for the first time they really meant it.  
  
Ginny and Draco never returned to their time. They did not find a way to get back, for the nymphs were wiped out from the forest and they had to flee from the vampires. They were forced to live in the country, away from others, so that they would not cause trouble. They had a son and daughter, which they called Orlando and Jennifer. Ginny died of infection, when she cut her skin deep and it filled with dirt. Draco lived to his sixties and died of exhaustion. The people of their time that knew them mourned, for they never saw them again. That is the end of their story.  
  
A:N ^_^ hehehehehehehe..how long this time? About 3 months? Hehehe....well at least I finished it finally!! Hehehe....please review! Oh and I never said this was gonna end well...tee hee!  
  
Toodles!:S 


	24. Just a quick Author's note if anyone's i...

Hello!  
  
Flame as you want, just to warn you, they're laughed at. And as for making up a quick ending, that's not true, I always intended on writing a sad ending. I love them! Call me a cynic if you want, although it's not true.  
  
So if you think the ending should have been happy, then too bad for you. This is MY story, and therefore will be MY ending. So nyah! Also, it wasn't an entirely sad ending anyway. They did live a happy life, had children and stuff. Although they died early, that wouldn't have been early in those days. People died very early in their life of smallpox or fever. And as for not letting them die, everyone dies eventually, I just thought I'd state how.  
  
So for you guys who didn't like the ending, I don't really give a flying chipmunk if you hated it ^_^.  
  
I might go on to writing humor fics, and about the updating delays, it's really up to you guys how often I update. If I get good reviews, and more than 5 of them, I'll update as soon as I can cos I'll be encouraged!  
  
Toodles!:S  
  
Miss Black 


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